Konoha's Orange Hokage
by DonutBeagle
Summary: Konoha has a multitude of legends: The Professor, The Sannin, The White Fang, even the Yellow Flash. But its next legend may be the only one to save the entire world from the ambitions of madmen who seek to recreate reality in their own image. . .
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello Narufans, and thank you for reading Uzumaki Storm Chronicles up to this point. I hate to break the news to you, but after some soul searching I've decided to redo the entire fic and make it into something new. That is why by the end of this month, I begin working on The Orange Spiral, an ambitious project that will go underway once I've completed my Halo fic. I consider the Uzumaki Storm Chronicles a rough draft, meant to exercise my fandom talents for this genre.**

**The reason why this came out so late was the fact that I had three college courses I was struggling with. Pre-Algebra is my achilles heel, History is fun unless you have to learn the dates, and Humanities requires sharp intellect. I guess I never went with my gut feeling when choosing these, I really just picked them and hoped I would do well just like in my previous classes. So I would like to apologize for this inconvenience. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, other than that I'm a Narutard and proud of it!**

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**Prologue**

Naruto was beat. Lying spread-eagle on the ground and out of breath, he mentally tallied off another successful Rasengan without an assist from one of his clones. It had been three months into their training and Jiraiya had been working him like a dog. Naruto regretted taking the old lecher for granted, he seemed to be such a joke whenever he did his "research", so at first it seemed like he would go easy for a couple of weeks or so.

Struggling to get up into a sitting position, the blond observed his the valley before him. . .or what used to be called a valley. It was dotted with craters that varied in size, a few of them were the size of the playground back at the Ninja Academy; he had put all that effort into forming a complete Rasengan without using a Kage Bushin, he did it with his own two hands alone. But so far, they never got even close to hitting his target.

Jiraiya stood out in the middle of the field, calm and poised. He had thrown off the large garments he usually wore and settled for his olive training gi, assuming a Gama stance making him as much as the toad hermit he already was. Naruto couldn't believe how fast he moved and how hard he hit; sure he took the old man for granted, Jiraiya was the opposite of a good role model: he spied on women, drank alcohol and slept with hookers. Needless to say the blond was frustrated with his mentor's laziness and went on a rant that he wish he could have gotten a more competent teacher like Iruka or Kakashi. His pride insulted, Jiraiya challenged his noisy student to a fight, with the promise that he would use only taijutsu.

"And to make it more interesting, if you manage to beat me, then I swear to never peek on another girl on this trip," his declaration brought a cheer from his student, "But if I win, you must do a favor for me."

Naruto by now had an idea what 'favors' were for his mentor. . .

"It's a bet, Ero-sennin!" the blond declared, "In thirty minutes you'll be begging for mercy!"

Ten minutes later Naruto was close to pleading for a time out. Jiraiya had not only dodged every attack, but had landed a couple hundred punches that could shatter the side of a concrete wall, he didn't even break a sweat. The opposite could be said for Naruto, having his gaudy orange and blue jacket now in shreds, his bare chest was glistening with sweat and his battered face was still defiant. Taking one look at his right arm, Naruto knew he couldn't use it anymore in this fight since it now hung limply from his side.

_"I guess that using over a dozen Rasengan has really backfired on me. I guess I could use it to slap Ero-sennin, not that it would do much," _Naruto flexed his left arm which thankfully had some life in it, _"Maybe I should use this one to wave the white flag."_

"Alright gaki, I think we're done here," Jiraiya called out to his student, "If we keep this up I'll have to bring you back to the inn on a stretcher."

Naruto struggled to stop himself from blacking out. If he lost, then he'd have to do whatever Jiraiya wanted him to. His mind had come up with a dozen possible scenarios.

"Oh no. . . not gonna happen, " Naruto staggered toward the distant outline of his mentor, "Won't be. . . uh, some toady for Ero-sennin and his. . ."

He never got the chance to finish his sentence since his face was soon in the dirt.

* * *

Jiraiya took a swig of his sake and placed it on the table, "And that is how me and Naruto resolved the situation at Privateer Cove."

The woman he had been talking to fluttered her eyelashes at the toad hermit and stroked his arm. She wore a loose-fitting kimono and her hair was tied up in a bun, she had been hanging around the village brothel with her partner who wore similar attire. The other woman who sat on the other side of the table with Naruto looked just as enthralled with Jiraiya's grand tale. Since Naruto lost the bet, he was forced to go along with Jiraiya to a small bar at the village they were currently staying at. It was just the five of them: Naruto, Jiraiya, two call girls, and a bartender who just looked bored to be tending the place.

"Ohh, Jiraiya-sama, that was so brave of you," the girl who was currently leaning against him drawled. Her name was Ichigo, the local favorite at the tavern Naruto and Jiraiya were eating at.

"Yeah," the girl who was sitting next to Naruto was also a bar favorite by the name of Saki, "Those demons had it coming for them."

"If I may correct you on that comment," Jiraiya spoke, "Those Kappa were the victims. The townsfolk were stealing their eggs for the festival, therefore both parties were at fault."

Saki pretended she didn't hear him, "So Naruto, I noticed you're quite the accomplished ninja. You saved any damsels in distress lately?" She then made show by leaning on the blonde's right shoulder.

Naruto had never had a female try to get this close to him, so the best he could do was mumble incoherently and blush more deeply.

"Well, would you look at the time. It's a quarter past noon, already? Sheesh, time sure flies when you're at the bar," Jiraiya managed to detach himself from Ichigo's arms.

"Jiraiya-sama, you're leaving?" Ichigo whimpered, "But we have yet to know each other!"

"Sorry ladies," the toad hermit held up his hands in apology, "But I promised the gaki here that I'd train him non-stop for tommorow, he still is hurting after our last spar."

_"Hurting?" _Naruto stared at his mentor accusingly, _"You can never break my spirit Ero-sennin! Perhaps my body, but definitely not the spirit!"_

Ichigo was not giving up. She pressed herself against the Toad Hermit's chest with watery eyes, "You wouldn't leave me, Jiraiya-sama. Not without one last gift?"

The man's perverted instincts took over, Jiraiya gave Naruto a pleading look.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto barked, "No!"

"Aww, come on, kid!" Jiraiya begged.

"You promised we would only be getting drinks and sharing stories, that's all!" Naruto snapped, now the adult of the two.

At first Jiraiya seemed to relent, but before Naruto could act the letcher had his arm already around Ichigo and with a quick half-assed apology to his apprentice and shushined out of the resteraunt.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled out angrily, "You low-brow, whore hounding. . ." his sputtering caught Saki's attention.

"No need to cry. You still have me," Saki cooed as she placed both of her hands on Naruto's hips.

A shiver went up his spine, "Err, sorry. I really am too young, plus I. . ."

"There's no need to be shy," Naruto felt Saki's hands inching closer toward his zipper, "Why don't you relax and let me work my magic for you?"

Yanking himself out of Saki's grasp and staring fervently at the exit, Naruto began to wish he hadn't challenged his mentor to a fight in the first place. If only he had known what he was getting himself into.

"I'm really sorry, Saki," Naruto held up his hands, "But believe me, I'm not the type of guy you would like."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I'm very sloppy and I don't usually clean up after myself, and I. . ."

Naruto was unprepared for what happened next. Saki was at the next instant in front of him and locking her lips with his. Time seemed to stand still as the Naruto was have trouble processing what was occurring here and now.

A lightbulb finally went off in his head causing the blond to push back the brunette while rubbing his lips, Naruto could faintly feel a nosebleed coming on.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Saki winked at the flustered blond, "Oh, so this was your first kiss?"

"Hell no! I've had plenty of experience!" Naruto boasted,_"Even if my first kiss had been with Sasuke, not something I'd share with you."_

"Nevertheless, you are quite attractive. I want you," Saki's eyes fluttered, "And what Saki wants she gets."

* * *

The next morning both master and pupil were at it again.

"I can't believe you let her slip through your fingers like that!" Jiraiya scoffed as he watched Naruto struggling with his heavy load.

"And I can't believe you set me up with her knowing she was the mayor's daughter!" Naruto gasped as he hefted the large boulder on his back.

"Well maybe if you hadn't dumped her she wouldn't have sent the city guards after us."

"I just told her I didn't like her and she freaked out, what else am I supposed to do?"

"You don't tell her you don't like her abruptly to the face. Guess I'm gonna have to work with you on the wonders of women as well."

"Nani?"

After narrowly escaping and hiding from their pursuers in a creek bed for nearly two hours, the two wandering ninja put some distance between them and the village before they could resume their training. Jiraiya had immediately set up a strict training program: early in the morning Naruto would work on his chakra control, an area he was severly lacking. For that he had to read and study various scrolls on chakra excersises and study the human anatomy. This was not Naruto's forte, as he was a kinesthetic learner and required at times to be shown a demonstration of a technique which he accomplished with little difficulty. Then at noon he would undergo training that would stretch his physical stamina, such as swimming upstream or walking up the side of a mountain with a rock on his back. And to finish the day off he would try perfecting the Rasengan technique.

Naruto stumbled and his hands instictively broke his fall, the heavy boulder on his back seemed to be even more cumbersome than before. Filling his lungs with more soot than air, the blond jinchuuriki stood once again on his trembling legs.

"Hard isn't it?" Jiraiya chuckled.

"Yeah, no shit Ero-sennin," Naruto wheezed, " You really expect me to climb this mountain with a damn boulder strapped to my back?"

"Sorry, gaki, best way to build endurance, " Jiraiya watched his newest pupil struggle to take another step, "Besides that I'm just warming you up for the training ahead."

"W-warm up?"

* * *

By the time the sun had gone down, Naruto and Jiraiya were already sitting by a campfire eating roasted mackeral. Since Jiraiya was a hermit and traveled a lot, he had become quite the cook. Being his usual self, Naruto would demand Ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not any of the 'slop' his new sensei cooked. Taking the outburst as a challenge, Jiraiya sat his hyperactive apprentice down and cooked him a meal.

For dinner he made yakiniku with diced onions on top. He showed his apprentice who was lacking in culinary skills on how to cook one side of the beef and to let the heat cook the onions and other side in the process. That was just four weeks ago, and since then Naruto never complained about Jiraiya's cooking.

"Mmm, Ero-semmin, mhere did hyou ern to make thus?" apparently he still hadn't gotten through to the gaki on not talking with his mouth full.

"I learned it from Sarutobi-sama," he grinned as he watched his pupil's eyes widen, "He would always cook for me and my team when we were on an extended mission."

Finally managing to swallow the food in his mouth, Naruto smiled, "It's good! Better than what Sasuke made. . ." his voice suddenly died down and he stopped mid-sentence.

Apparently the Uchiha's name had become taboo. Jiraiya prefered that his pupil would stop dwelling on what he lost and focus on testing the limits of his body, yet the bond he held with Sasuke still held firm. Maybe he would really go through with the promise he made to Sakura and would probably keep till his death. Unlike Naruto, Jiraya had an idea of how the raven-haired Uchiha would turn out once he completed his tutelage under Orochimaru.

"Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya looked at his student who had developed a solemn look on his face, "Sasuke said he was going to sever his bonds with me in order to kill his brother. He said I could never understand what he went through."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding, seeing where this was going, "You were friends with Orochimaru, right Ero-sennin?"

_"Friends?" _the Toad hermit mused, _"Haven't considered my past ties with that snake for a long time."_

"What drove him to leave Konoha?" Naruto looked at his mentor expectantly.

Narrowing his eyes as he recalled the injustice his 'friend' had done, Jiraiya cleared his throat, "To this day I am unsure, but from what I can understand there were two motivating factors which led him down his twisted machinations: first was the death of his parents during the final years of the Bijuu Wars, then seeing Nawaki and Dan dying and the impact it had on Tsunade. He must have been sad at the frality of human life, so he tried to find a cure for it."

"So his intentions were a bit noble at first?" Naruto's face scrunched up, since 'Orochimaru' and 'noble' didn't seem to fit well together.

"In a way yes, but throughout his life Orochimaru always had a dark side, so in the process of his search he became obsessed with forbidden jutsu," Jiraiya looked into the fire he used to cook the mackeral with, "Like you I was accused of being unable to understand what Orochimaru was going through, so I assumed that getting Orochimaru back would be a cakewalk."

"But Sasuke is different," Naruto protested, "He really still has feelings for us, the only thing that's hurting him is Itachi. If we could just bring him back. . ."

"If you think you can get through to him, then good for you. But being accepted back into Konoha will be a lot more difficult."

Naruto looked perplexed, "What do you mean, Ero-sennin?"

"I'm saying it's not easy to accept a missing-nin back," Jiraiya saw the blond wince at the description he gave Sasuke, "Joining forces with an infamous criminal has serious reprucussions, not everyone will take him back."

"But everyone in the village likes Sasuke. . ." Naruto replied lamely.

"What part of, 'Sasuke joined Orochimaru,' do you not understand?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak again but closed it. He really hadn't thought about that. Many people in Konoha were not as forgiving and would most likely see Sasuke put on trial, maybe a few would want to see him executed. Had Sakura known about this, or was she as oblivious as he was? Maybe her attachment to Sasuke was leading her to some fantasy in which Team 7 was reunited and all was forgiven. Hell, even he felt the same way, that Sasuke was some prodigal son who had lost his way and would eventually see the error of his ways.

Damn, he was such a child.

"Yet all I see is that their is too much hatred in the world."

Naruto looked at his mentor, confused at his statement, "Hate?"

"Ever since the first kunai had been thrown, hate has given birth to three major wars and seventeen minor ones. It's the motivating factor in the Ninja world, it fuels the bloodshed and distrust between nations and friends, an endless cycle of conflict," Jiraiya smiled at his student.

"But I have faith that one day that everyone will learn to understand each other, that we will put all hatred and prejudice aside and learn to like each other!"

Naruto's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open, "Ero-sennin, that had to be the most beautiful thing I have ever heard coming from your mouth."

Jiraiya gazed at his newest pupil, "And if I can't find that answer, then maybe I'll entrust you to look for it."

The blond perked up and saluted, "Don't worry Ero-sennin! If you get too old or tired, I'll definitely find peace for you!"

Bursting in a fit of laughter, Jiraiya slapped his knee," Ah, gaki. Your smile, it's my salvation! I'm glad I made you my apprentice!"

At that comment Naruto blushed slightly, he had never recieved that kind of praise from anyone. . .

"Yet that doesn't mean I've thrown in the towel just yet!" Naruto looked confused as his sensei dug into his knapsack and brought out one of his infamous books, "I plan to start changing the world with my books!"

Naruto gave his lecherous mentor a blank look, "You mean your pornographic novels that do nothing but make men play with themselves?"

"Shut up, they're destined to be best-sellers!" Jiraiya boasted, "And I won't even autograph your copies even if you beg me!"

A revolted look flashed on Naruto's face before sticking his tongue and and shivering, "If I ever get addicted to your pornography Ero-sennin, I'll hang myself."

"For the last time it's not pornography, it's a self-help book," Jiraiya waved his latest issue angrily, "It gives advice to men on how not to be hopeless with women!"

"But how come Kakashi-sensei giggles sometimes whenever he reads?"

Scratching the back of his head, Jiraiya tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, "Well, I guess some parts of the book do tend to be a little naughty. . .but that's just to show the. . . uh, so it's descriptive, big deal."

Naruto scrunched up his face in deep thought, "So some men don't even know what a woman looks like?"

Jiraiya stared at his student for a few seconds before throwing the book at his head, "Read chapters seven and ten. That's all you need to know for your age."

* * *

The sun had just begun to set at Konohagakure. Many of the shops in the market district had already closed down; many of the villagers were already starting to disperse, children were tugging at the hems of their parents clothing wanting to stay out a little longer, a few workers had retired for the day and were heading for the nearest bar. Sections of the village were still in need of repair, even some of the tracks left by the animal summons were still present.

Tsunade leaned against the railing as she surveyed the village. Her village. She kept reminding herself that ever since she took the position of Godaime Hokage, she would be first woman to be sworn into office, as well as its oldest. God, she needed a drink.

Once she sat down at the desk, a barrage of mission requests and orders flew at her, as well as contracts for new buildings set up to rebuild Konohagakure. If it hadn't been for Shizune she would have still been swimming in a sea of print. Because Naruto had been so insistent on her taking up after Sarutobi, the Legendary Sucker braced herself. No more wasting money at the casinos, not as much booze she usually drank, and certainly no lazy hour for her.

Yet on the bright side she did get to reaquaint herself with some old friends, people she hadn't seen in more than a decade: Gayuchi, Minto, Asuma, and a bunch of others who were genin when she first left them. Then again, she did meet some people she would like to bury.

"Tsunade-sama, the Elders are here to see you."

Speak of the devil.

Nodding her thanks to Shizune, her most trusted apprentice and friend, and helped herself to the couch in the middle of the room. The people who entered the room were two fossils of Konoha. Both had been the students of Senju Tobirama alongside Sarutobi Hiruzen, they had always been the voice of the people and had the villages best interests in mind. Yet the one thing that really pissed Tsunade off was their lack of respect for her. Being Konoha's council, every decision that the Hokage would make was reviewed by the council, who would give their advice or opinion on the matter, so as to balance powers within Konoha.

Utakane Koharu was the first to greet her, giving a polite bow before sitting on a couch opposite of Tsunade. Back when she was young, Koharu had been a beautiful kunoichi whose genjutsu had proven lethal on the field, and held the status of Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress until Kurenai surpassed her. Her partner, Mitokado Homura, sat beside her and stared at Tsunade with a calculating gaze.

Since the two of them were here, things weren't going to be pleasant.

"Tsunade, we have just looked over the newest edition of the Leaf's Bingo Book," Homura spoke evenly, "And there was just one mistake we felt that needed to be corrected."

Mentally, Tsunade frowned. She could already guess who they were referring to.

"Yes, Sasuke is not on the book," Tsunade watche as the elders neutral expressions turned into surprise.

Koharu was the first to speak, "You knew? But we thought it had to have been some error or the work of an old admirer of the Uchiha clan. Don't tell us you're responsible!"

Something inside of Tsunade loved to see the old fossils riled up, yet now wasn't the time for her to be toying with them, "It was my decision to leave Uchiha Sasuke out of the book due to some requests made."

"And by that you mean some of Sasuke's acquaintences wish for him to remain free to roam without punishment fit for a criminal?" Homura said skeptically, "With all due respect Tsunade you can't let some petty friendship get in the way of village politics."

"Sasuke may be a missing-nin, but he carries no grudge towards Konoha, only to his brother," Tsunade spoke evenly, "There still might be some hope for him yet."

"Are you truly that naive?" Homura sputtered, "He left with Orochimaru - **the** Orochimaru! In a month or so he is probably as hellbent on destroying Konoha as his new master is!"

"Despite what you may think, Sasuke will not return to Konoha," Koharu locked eyes with Tsunade, "And we will see to it that the Fire Daimyo hears of this."

Tsunade glared at the two old fossils, expecting them to say anything else before sighing, "So that's how it's gonna be? The will of the Council surpasses the Hokage."

"This isn't just are will but the will of the people," Homura spoke sincerely, "For the good of Hi no Kuni."

Slightly relieved at their honesty, Tsunade tried to sit herself more comfortably in her couch, "So does anyone else oppose Sasuke's inclusion into the Bingo Book besides me and his friends?"

"Only a few," Koharu said bitterly, "They had such high hopes for the boy."

After hearing of the massacre, nearly everyone in the village pitied Sasuke. To show their support, they cut prices whenever he went to a store, he recieved the most attention in the academy, and in general everyone saw him as a new hope for the Uchiha clan. Yet all that kindness was never enough, and the last Uchiha left the village.

"Yet the boy carries the Sharingan, so anyone with a malicious intent could use it to their advantage," Homura folded his hands over his lap, "Sasuke will be our problem, nobody else's."

Ah, a compromise. Tsunade had to admit these old fossils now held the winning hand, "Very well, that sounds fair. Sasuke shall be absent from the Bingo Book, but that doesn't exempt him from justice."

The four occupants in the room were unaware of the eavesdropper. Trying to hold back tears, the kunoichi who had her ear to the wall vanished, her short-bubblegum hair flowing behind her.

* * *

Otogakure was a pit of scum and villainy, something that distrubed Sasuke greatly. If one of the former Sannin held his own village, wouldn't he put more effort into it and try to hire or train actual ninja rather than criminals? The air underground was putrid, it smelled of death and reeked of despair. Fighting inside a makeshift colliseum a couple hundred meters under the surface wasn't doing much good either.

Ducking as a thug took a swipe at him, Sasuke punched the sweaty man in the solar plexus, knocking him down like a tree. There was so few of them now, just a bunch of failed test subjects.

But even Sasuke had his limits.

Shaking the bangs of hair in front of his eyes, Sasuke forced his body to keep on fighting despite multiple lacerations and stab wounds. He had to get stronger, to kill his brother and avenge his clan.

"Impressive, isn't he?" a pair of yellow-slitted eyes watched in anticipation as his newest apprentice took on the remaining prisoners out in the arena.

A silver-haired man with glasses nodded, "Sasuke-kun is steadily imroving, he already has managed to learn five katas of Hebi Ryuu in such a short time."

The yellow-slitted eyes bore into Sasuke's head, as if imagining tearing the Sharingan eyes out of the boy, "_That's what worries me. He has learned faster than I ever did when at that age."_

Catching the last prisoner by the throat, Sasuke snapped the neck and watched the man's shocked expression as his head bended at an unnatural angle. Throwing the corpse to the side in contempt, Sasuke looked back up into the observation balcony and glared at the two sole figures behind the window.

Kabuto flinched from the intense gaze but Orochimaru just smirked.

"So, little Sasuke-kun wants to exceed his limits? Very well, send out the next batch."

Sasuke meanwhile suppressed the shudder that went through his body as the gates opened, as more failed test subjects would join the party soon.

_"Itachi. . . you will regret the day you let your 'foolish little brother' live."_

* * *

Jiraiya smiled as he watched his pupil sleep soundly beside the slowly dying fire. Training had been rough, yet as always he managed to surprise even himself with his stubborn refusal to quit.

_"Seeing such vigor reminds me of Minato, which reminds me I gotta tell the kid of his heritage soon," _Jiraiya thought fondly, _"And that reminds me. . ."_

Searching through his knapsack, Jiraiya brought out a book with a worn cover. It had been his first work, and not as widely recieved as his Icha Icha series, yet it held a special place in his heart.

_"Just wait until I have you read this, gaki," _Jiraiya smirked, _"The main character is a lot like you and your parents."_

Skimming through the pages, Jiraiya came to the last one in the book, having only one sentence, "To be continued. . ."

Jiraiya had asked himself if he would ever write a sequel, it had been hard since his Icha Icha Paradise was such a hit that he had to continue with his research. For the moment he wondered if writing another action novel was worth the time and effort.

Inspiration struck him when he looked back at Naruto. Why not take the leap of faith? It had been some time since he tried writing an adventure novel.

Taking a notepad out, Jiraiya knew he had to start with the title, _"Can't say I'm really good with choosing an appropriate name for a book, I sorta get my ideas by brainstorming."_

Looking at his pupil who had by now formed a sleep bubble from his nose, Jiraiya analyzed the boy, _"The Legend of Uzimaki Naruto? No way, it's too bland. Need something to capture his character and heritage. How about The Story of the Orange Ninja? Maybe not."_

Brainstorming a title was difficult for Jiraiya, it required something original and complemented the story. He looked at Naruto and saw many things: the Knuclehead ninja, the Maelstrom, the Golden Prankster, the list went on.

_"I think The Last Maelstrom seems a little dark, damn I need some inspiration!"_

He gazed at Naruto again, and after pondering for some time the Toad Hermit smiled.

_"Ah, now I know. Thanks Minato, you too Kushina."_

Jiraiya wrote three words on the top of the page, _**"Konoha's Orange Hokage."**_

* * *

**Authors note: And there you have it, the first chapter of an ambitious project. Some of you might be still dissappointed about abandoning the last story, but to me that didn't seem like the fanfic I was aiming for. Instead, I've taken up Seitora's 'Retro Naruto' challenge. What does it mean? Being free from the restraints of canon and using your own imagination to build the story. Check his profile to learn more on this challenge.**

**Please Read and Review, for this is just a prologue...**


	2. Guess who's back? Uzumaki Naruto returns

**Authors Note: Hi, it's me again! Its been some time but the vacation in Puerto valarta is what I needed; it gave me time to figure out how I should write out this chapter. Anyway, just to let you know that the Naruto in this fic will be much stronger than the one in canon. Seriously, since when does like a week of training with Kakashi and another with Fukasaku makes him stronger than three years with Jiraiya? That is Grade A Bullcrap, Kishimoto! **

**Ok, enough of the one-sentence rant, enjoy the chapter!**

**I Don't own Naruto or any of the merchandise :(**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Guess who's back? Uzumaki Naruto returns!**

Konoha was just starting to enjoy the first rays of sunlight, signalling a new morning had come. Street Vendors had just begun to open their shops to sell their wares when a brown cat with a pink ribbon tied around its neck raced across the marketplace, dodging a few civilians who had risen early by weaving between their legs, the small tabby hoped it had outwitted its pursuers; looking back the cat's eyes widened when he saw one of the three rugrats hot on his heels, the one with the spiky brown hair and blue scarf, with that wide grin that kept on saying, "I'm gonna catch you!"

Cursing his nine cat lives, Tora took a sharp left turn down an alleyway and exited into another busy street in a vain attempt to throw off his pursuers. No doubt the Fat One had these genin sent for him, she could never leave him alone. A few startled cries and angry shouts came from behind Tora, those being the pedestrians who got in the way of the genin chasing him. With his heart beating against his ribcage, Tora knew he couldn't keep ahead of those brats, a last-minute escape plan was needed.

Darting behind a stand, the escaped pet leaped into an empty wicker basket while the pursuers sped past, unaware of being duped. Tora peered over the side at the bumbling genin and let out a low and satisfied giggle, or an equivalent of one. Let them look, but Tora had been one step ahead and masked its scent. With luck, freedom would finally be around the corner.

* * *

"In all my life, I have never heard of a group of genin fail a D-ranked mission!" Ebisu wailed, "Especially when it happens to be my team!"

Moegi and Udon looked down in shame while Konohamaru remained defiant.

"But that damn cat is getting better! Shouldn't a tracker like the Hyuuga or an Inuzuka be on the case?"

"That's beside the point!" the closet pervert sputtered, "Do you have any idea on how this will look bad on your records? 'The Grandson of the Third Hokage fails to catch a cat', oh what a disaster!"

Sitting at the head of the table, Tsunade resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The 'Find Tora' mission had become a taboo amongst starting genin, and it grew repetitive every time Madame Shimji, the wife of the Fire Daimyo, sent a messenger bird to Konoha every time with tear stains evident on the parchment demanding the reclamation of her beloved pet.

Now that Tora was gone, this would be the fourth lost pet of Madame Shimji's private little zoo.

"Well why won't you give us real missions, not these damn chores that have us pulling weeds, cleaning the trash, hunting down that stupid cat, why not test our limits and give us a C-rank mission?"

Tsunade smirked. Ever since Naruto had left almost three years ago, it was Konohamaru's job to imitate the brat as much as possible, from hiding the chalk to painting the Hokage mountain, it seemed that Naruto was still in the village.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei! You got any better missions for us?" Konohamaru turned to his old instructor for help.

Iruka sat left of Tsunade served as an Assigner, a person who would give out missions to both rookie and veteran ninja.

"Well, it isn't that easy. . ." Iruka started out but was cut off by an irate Ebisu.

"At this rae you won't get any higher tier missions, therefore you must partake in these low-risk missions until I deem you ready!"

Konohamaru looked as though he'd been slapped in the face, "What do you mean low risk? The only risk in those missions is bug bites and crazy cats!"

"Well whether you like it or not, you will only recieve D-rank missions," Tsunade spoke for the first time since Team Ebisu came back to report their failure, "There is no shortcuts."

It looked as if the Third's grandson would argue his case further, but instead started to grin.

"Now what's on your mind, you little rascal?" Tsunade remembered all too well of Konohamaru's recent vandalism on her face and would be damned if that ever happened again.

"Sorry, its just that you sounded like Naruto-nii-san for a moment!" Konohamaru giggled.

The room was silent, Ebisu looked horrified and was about to reprimend the boy when Tsunade chuckled, "Oh, indeed? I never knew the little upstart would be so wise."

"Oh, he is Tsunade-baachan! That's why he'll become the Rokudaime Hokage, and then I'll be the Nanadaime Hokage!"

Her eyebrows twitched, the Slug princess glared at Konohamaru, "And I see you got his mannerisms as well."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the Konohamaru corps exited the Hokage administration building. After being given a verbal lashing by their sensei, the kids were looking forward to have some downtime.

"Naruto, eh?" Udon sniffed.

"I wonder what he is up to now?" Moegi looked to the ringleader of the group, who had his arms folded behind his head and a smile similar to his idol.

"Oh, he'll be back, and even more awesome than ever," Konohamaru walked with his oversized scarf dragging behind him in the dust, "He promised to get stronger, so we gotta have faith in him, right?"

His two companions nodded in agreement, and the three of them continued on their way.

Tsunade snorted as she watched the troublesome trio head toward the village marketplace, "That kid definetley reminds me of Naruto. No respect for their superiors, humph!"

Shizune giggled, "Oh come now Lady Tsunade, you know he is trying his best to act like him."

The Slug Princess and her apprentice stood at the observational window from the main office and down at the village itself. The Konohamaru corps had just started to get blended into the crowd, making it hard to see make them out in the sea of people.

_"Naruto should be arriving soon, I wonder how he has been and whether he knows his heritage, _Tsunade could imagine a tall and handsome boy would be walking through Konohagakure's main gate in any moment, _Let's hope he's prepared for what lies ahead."_

* * *

Haruno Sakura had just been sent by Tsunade to pick up the reports of the travelers who passed through the main gate. Along the way she had come across the Konohamaru Corps, and they decided to tag along with her.

"And this cat was like, super fast! We could hardly keep up with the little furball, so it managed to evade us in the market!" Konohamaru pouted, "Some ninja I turned out to be."

"It's no use beating yourself over a failed mission," Sakura spoke to the depressed genin, "Every mission my team got with that cat has made it even more stronger and determined, so it's obvious it has grown out of its lazy lifestyle in the Daimyo's palace and eventually escaped."

Konohamaru looked up at the pink-haired medical ninja, "You mean you dealt with the mangy furball before?"

Sakura laughed, "Of course, though Naruto was the the only one who caught the cat and ended up getting clawmarks on his face. The fourth time of Tora's capture, Naruto gave the poor kitty quite the punt."

"He kicked a cat," Moegi looked horrified.

Sakura shook her head, feeling a sense of nostalgia coming on, "Hey, I couldn't blame him. I ran into a thorn bush all because of that feline. I feel that Tora must be happier now on the run rather with Madame Shimji."

"No kidding," snorted Konohamaru, "That bare hug the big old lady gave that furball must be suffocating."

As Moegi berated Konohamaru for his lack of respect for an authority figure, Sakura smiled as she recalled the last time they caught Tora.

_Flashback_

_Cursing as she tried to remove the thistles from her hair, Sakura stumbled blindly through the forest after losing sight of Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and that damn cat. It had been over a week since Tsunade got installed as the Fifth Hokage and despite the more obvious work needed to be done on the village, the fabled Slug Princess had already sent them on a wild cat chase. So what if her team had an impressive record of this type of mission? It has been getting aggravating to retrieve the same damn feline over and over again._

_"This is Uzumaki Naruto! I finally caught the damn furball!" a loud and obnoxious voice nearly broke Sakura's eardrums. _

_"Language Naruto," another voice said sternly, "Sasuke, can you confirm?"_

_"Acknowledged, the target is at Point 38," a bored tone answered, belonging to the boy of her dreams._

_Sakura didn't have to search long, she could simply follow the pained screams of Naruto getting clawed in the face._

_When entering the clearing, she found her crush standing as aloof as ever, looking away from a raging dustcloud of Naruto and Tora. A few seconds later, Kakashi appeared with what many would call his 'smiling eye'._

_"Hmm, forty minutes and sixteen seconds to catch the cat. A new record."_

_Sasuke and Sakura gave their sensei the evil eye, while Naruto who was still wrestling with the stubborn feline said something incomprehensible, though to Sakura it sounded a lot like a "Screw you, sensei!" despite the scuffle muffling it out._

_Another mission success, and yet another failed attempt on the cat's part to escape._

_"Gah!" Naruto finally wretched the cat from his face and held the squirming feline at arm's length, "Why can't this stupid furball stay at home? So what if the fat lady hugs it too much?"_

_Good old Naruto, no respect for authority whatsoever. _

_"Now be careful, Naruto," Kakashi chided the unruly ninja, "You don't want to roughhouse the pet now."_

_"Roughhouse it? Look what it did to my face!" the hyperactive blond pointed to his clawed face, some of the scratches appeared to be deep._

_The teacher and his students watched in bemusement as Naruto went on another of his tirades, "I hate cats! They always spit and hiss and difficult to get along with, and did I mention their claws hurt like hell?"_

_To emphasize the point Tora let out a low and feral growl, its eyes were wide and murderous at being foiled of its escape plan. Naruto stared back at the rebellious feline and tried to squint his eyes and gave the cat an equally deadly glare. . . until the cat clawed at Naruto's face once again._

_"Alright, that's it! Payback time!" Naruto tightened his grip and held the cat in front of him._

_Taking a deep breath, Naruto pulled his leg back and punted the feline._

_Sakura's face was aghast, her eyes followed as the cat soared like a speeding bullet towards the village. Did Naruto just did what she think he did?_

_"Way to go dumbass," Sasuke scoffed, "You just cost us the mission."_

_"No!" Naruto protested, "I kicked it towards Konoha so technically it isn't lost!"_

_Kakashi shook his head in exasperation, "But did you consider it might be difficult to search for it throughout the streets? The commerce is incredibly heavy today."_

_Naruto looked insulted, "Didn't you think I planned this out? I kicked it towards the Hokage Tower."_

_Flashback End_

"So what happened next," Konohamaru asked as the party neared the main gate.

"Naturally Tsunade-shishou was furious for having a cat fly through an open window and hit her in the head, but you had to admit Naruto planning that all out was impressive," Sakura smiled, the memory still fresh in her head, "Of course he hadn't expected to get spanked by the new Hokage."

"Boss got a spanking?"

Sakura giggled, "Of course, I was surprised myself. But then who could blame Tsunade-shishou for being so mad after the cat tore at her hair and ransacked the office? Though I do feel sorry for Naruto, he couldn't sit for three hours."

"Hey, you four here on an errand for Tsunade-sama?"a voice suddenly spoke up, and Sakura realized she was standing right in front of the main gate booth. Kotetsu and Izumo had been stationed there since Tsunade's inaugration and had been keeping a tally on who entered and left Konohagakure. They also had been assigned to her as personal assistants, the handymen who helped her in almost every task required for the Hokage. Whether it was an honor to them or demeaning was unknown.

"Ah, good afternoon Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san," Sakura greeted, "I'm here to pick up the afternoon trafficking report."

"Yes of course. Here you go," Izumo handed the newly-minted chunin a set of documents, "By the way Sakura why don't you take a walk around town."

Noting the look of confusion on Sakura's face, Kotetsu added, "You'll see something interesting."

"Something interesting?" Sakura pondered his words for a moment until the realization hit her. Looking toward the village, her heart racing, she sprinted through the crowded streets the trafficking documents forgotten.

* * *

The first thing Uzumaki Naruto did after being away from his home for so long was run up a telephone pole and announce his return. Jiraiya, the Toad Sennin and Keeper of the Key shook his head.

Always rambunctious, just like his mother.

"Hey, Ero-sennin! They put up Tsunade-baachan's old face up on the Hokage Mountain as well!"

Sure enough, the Fifth Hokage's face was alongside her predecessors, watching over the village with a stern look. It was certain pride to the Fire Country that they were the only ones who carved their village leaders on a mountain as a way to immortalize them.

"I hope you're not thinking of decorating the newest edition with graffiti," Jiraiya warned.

"Of course not, Ero-sennin," the blonde protested, "I'm gonna make it look older is all! Even the mountain is living a lie!"

Jiraiya groaned, "_Why did most of your genes have to be passed onto the boy, Kushina. Heck, I wasn't your teacher, but the look on Sakumo's face after every team exercise shows me how much of a handful you are!"_

"Naruto? Naruto, is that you?"

The blonde perked up as he heard a familiar voice. He looked down to see bubblegum hair.

"When did you get here, Naruto?" Sakura called up to him.

"Just now!" he yelled as he jumped down and landed in front of her, "Its been a while, Sakura-chan. You haven't changed much, but I'd say you're prettier than ever!"

Sakura at that moment found it hard to resist giving the knucklehead a bear hug. Kami, how long had it been since she last talked to Naruto? The two and a half years seemed to have stretched out for Sakura that she had forgotten what it was like to talk to Naruto again. He always knew how to encourage her when she was depressed or having a hard time training. If he hadn't rooted for her, she may have never been nearly as strong as she was now.

"Oh!" she suddenly realized what she had been missing, "Naruto, you've grown taller!"

"Huh?" the blond sized himself up with Sakura and nodded, "Ah, I remember now. I hit a growth spurt while training."

"Hey, Naruto-niichan!" Konohamaru shouted.

Just as Naruto and Sakura turned to look at the Third Hokage's grandson, there was a loud pop and then a bashful, naked brunette with a gorgeous figure.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun," the drop-dead beauty purred.

The reactions were expected. Sakura was appalled, Jiraiya was gaga, Naruto raised his eyebrows, and Udon and Moegi stood behind him shocked.

Konohamaru dropped the offensive jutsu with a cheshire grin plastered on his face, "You like that one, bro? I finally perfected my sexy pose all this time! Had some real 'oomph' to it, right?"

Chuckling softly, Naruto smiled at the little rascal, "Konohamaru, I'm not a kid anymore. So you shouldn't use techniques like those anymore either."

Sakura was nothing short of surprised, as she stared up and down at the boy who claimed to be Naruto.

_"I see. He didn't just grow physically," _Sakura felt something flutter in her chest, "_Maybe you came back with some impressive jutsu, like. . ."_

"That technique is mediocre!" Naruto yelled on the top of his lungs, "Check out my newly-improved sexy jutsu!"

"_. . .like the sexy jutsu, right now I remember. . ." _Sakura's thoughts drifted off as something bestial awakened within her.

Just as about Naruto was putting his hands into a hijutsu seal to perform the infamous technique, Sakura's fist connected with his cheek and sent him flying, **"****Baka!"**

Naruto was thrown a few feet in the air before landing a few yards away, his head and torso buried in the dirt with his legs sticking up haphazardly. Grinding her teeth and clenching her fists, Sakura marched over to where Naruto was and pulled him out of the ground and shook him violently.

**"Here I was thinking of how mature you had gotten when you pull that shit off? Do you have any idea how disappointed I am right now?"**

The Konohamaru Corps had taken refuge by Jiraiya, clinging on to him just in case Sakura's fury descended upon him. The Toad Hermit shook his head in amazement at the spectacle before him, _"Damn, such beauty and strength. It's like looking at a mini-Tsunade all of a sudden."_

Meanwhile, Naruto was having his own thoughts while he was being shook, _"Jeez, looks like Sakura still hasn't changed much. Still as quick-tempered as usual."_

**"Dammit, how can you still be so immature? I just want to. . .augh!"**

_"Actually, I think she is a little more violent than before. . ."_

* * *

After the debacle had ended at the Market Square, Naruto and Jiraiya quickly got reaquainted with Tsunade. She had been waiting expectantly in her office for the usual loudmouth, but what she got instead was someone a lot more grown. Naruto wasn't the little pipsqueak he was when the two of them first met. She had always thought that those round cheeks she pinched at times and with the same pubescent voice that rose to such high levels, and let's not forget the stupid orange jumpsuit that got everyone's attention.

Now that he was back, Tsunade got a good look on how her favorite ninja matured. The baby chub was gone from his cheeks; they were a bit more concave but still pinch-able, his hair still remained its bright yellow, shaggy look. He still sported the color orange, but he had slightly modified his wardrobe from the usual blue parts of his jacket to black and the color extending from the upper shoulders area to the sleeves. His forehead protector had been attached to a longer black bandana and he wore a darker grey pair of sandals.

Overall, he looked like an older version of the twelve-year old gaki she knew.

The first thing she did when Naruto was about to open his mouth was rush over to him and snatched him in a bear crushing hug. Naruto's face went from blue to purple before Sakura cautioned her teacher to let Naruto go before his spine got snapped.

Apologizing to the winded genin, Tsunade took a seat at her desk as if nothing had happened.

"Long time no see, you two," she greeted Naruto and Jiraiya with her hands folded on her desk, "I take it that the training had some results, right?"

"Did you think he would come back with no results?" Jiraiya acted as if insulted, "Naruto had the Legendary Toad Hermit as a personal tutor, so he should be almost as strong as me about now. I taught him everything I know!"

Tsunade raised her eyebrows at Jiraiya's boast, "Everything?"

Sensing the rising heat in the room radiating from the Godaime Hokage, Jiraiya stuttered, "But not 'everything', though it didn't hurt to give him a few pointers."

Eliciting a groan from Sakura and a gasp from Naruto, Jiraiya felt presipritation on his forehead as Tsunade gave him one of her many death glares.

"Just give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch you through the side of my wall."

"It's okay, Tsunade-baachan," Naruto said hurredly, saving his sensei from a fist to the face, "I really did improve myself! Ero-sennin even bet that I'm jounin caliber!"

The growing killer intent vanished, and Tsunade looked at Naruto with a newfound interest, "Oh really? The let's see those results."

"See them?"

Tsunade nodded, "I'd like you to fight a certain someone, just to see where you are right now so I can gauge your abilities. Sakura will also fight alongside you against the person I picked out."

"Really, shishou?" Sakura seemed just as surprised as Naruto was.

"Both of you need to be evaluated, just to see how you can stack up against the jounin I picked out for you," Tsunade explained, "He hasn't taken any missions so he can be in top shape when facing the two of you."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door behind them. Tsunade looked behind Naruto and Sakura and called out, "Enter!"

The door slowly creaked open and Naruto gaped in shock at who he saw.

Shikamaru was still wearing his chunin vest he got from the exams two and a half years ago, while Temari sported a black robe that reached down to her legs and had a red sash along with black gloves.

"Temari! Shikamaru! Guess who just returned!" Sakura pointed at Naruto excitedly.

Shikamaru stared at Naruto for a moment before his face broke into a wide grin, "Ah, Naruto! It really is you!"

While Naruto greeted his old academy partner, Temari stared at the knucklehead ninja with a dumbfounded expression, _"This is the shrimp? How did he get so tall?"_

"So you came back," Shikamaru looked at the much older version of the troublemaker.

"Yeah, I just got back this morning," Naruto smiled.

Shikamaru chuckled, "You don't look like such an idiot anymore or how to say it? You've changed!"

"Eh, no he hasn't," Sakura waved her hand in a negative.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whined, prompting everyone in the room besides himself to laugh at Naruto's expense.

"Kidding aside, are you two going to be our challengers?" Naruto asked the two newcomers.

"Opponent? What are you talking about? I just came by to pick up some documents," Shikamaru explained.

"Naruto! Those two aren't your opponents," Tsunade pointed out the window on her right, "He is out there!"

Walking over to the window Tsunade had indicated to, Naruto looked out and grinned, "Ah! It's you, sensei!"

Kakashi sat cross-legged on the slanting roof reading his trusty orange book. The masked jounin looked up and gave a small wave, "Yo."

"Sensei, you haven't changed at all!" Naruto leapt through the window and onto the roof to crouch near his jounin instructor. His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, that's right. Hold on," Naruto reached behind and dug through his knapsack, "I have a present for you, Kakashi-sensei."

Meanwhile, Sakura and Tsunade were looking at the scene before them. Leaning forward, Tsunade spoke to her student, "This is such a nostalgic sight, isn't it?"

Sakura nodded, having seen this interaction with Naruto and Kakashi before. In his earlier years as a ninja, Naruto would always run up to the masked jounin and beg to learn something new. Humoring the little scamp, Kakashi would show him a few more fighting styles and help Naruto polish up on the one's he worked at the Ninja Academy.

"Hai," Sakura responded as she watched Naruto pull out a book and thrust it at Kakashi.

The usual stoic demeanor Kakashi maintained throughout his entire life was broken when let out a girly, "Nani? You. . . t. . .this. . . is. . ." His hand was shaking as if it had been through a blizzard.

It was the newest edition in the Make-out Paradise series: Icha Icha Tactics.

"You see, this is the first new book from the Make-out Paradise series in three years!" Naruto explained as Kakashi gingerly took the book as if it was a sacred tome, "It's really boring. But you like it, don't you, sensei?"

At this Jiraiya turned his back and humphed, "_The fool! Like a brat like him would be able to understand reading such art! And that book hasn't been put out in stores just yet!"_

Slowly yet with great reference, Kakashi opened the cover of his sacred tome. The first page made him blush.

"Okay!" Tsunade had to admit that even she was getting annoyed by the jounin's behavior, "Stop goofing off now, Kakashi!"

Looking up from his book and managing to sneak a glare at the Hokage's back, Kakashi reluctantly closed the book. Well, maybe later when he had some time for himself he could read and reread his new book.

"Huh, you can't mean. . ." Naruto trailed off.

"Yes," Kakashi nodded, "Naruto and Sakura, I am your opponent."

Naruto gave his teacher a blank look. Go against his sensei? A slow smile crept along his face.

"So sensei, you think you can take on the both of us?" Naruto had the same determined look from his childhood.

Kakashi sensed his student's anticipation, "Now hold on a minute, Naruto. Aren't you a little tired from your trip. You should get some well deserved rest before taking me on."

"What? But I'm not even tired," Naruto complained.

"I'll meet you at the third training ground," Kakashi acted as if he didn't hear Naruo, "Later!"

With a burst of smoke Kakashi was gone. Naruto shook his head and leaned on the window sill, "I hate it when sensei leaves so abruptly."

"I wonder what was wrong. He was in such a hurry," Shizune spoke up for the first time since Naruto entered the room with Jiraiya and Sakura.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "I have a pretty good idea."

"He's planning on reading that book," Shikamaru sighed.

Both Naruto and Sakura gave each other a knowing look, having to constantly be reminded that their teacher read what was basically porn. That look on his face gave away his intentions.

* * *

Gaara inhaled the dusty air that he had been accustomed to his entire life. It was quite refreshing to step outside and reflect on what had happened in the last two and a half years. It had been chaotic, Sunagakure had broken its trust with Konohagakure and lost its Kazekage, his father. A few months after the failed invasion, bigger countries like the Land of Earth took advantage of Suna's weakness and started snatching missions away.

Everyone knew that taking and completing missions handed out by clients was crucial to a village's survival, hence that was why Suna had been so desperate in betraying Konoha in the first place: to regain some publicity. But things backfired on them and now they were in a worse position than before. They had to pay three hundred million ryou for the damages caused to Konohagakure and the surrrounding countryside and had lost most of their senior ninja on the failed invasion. They would also have to accept further limits to their power as a nation, reducing the amount of missions taken beyond the border of the Wind Country.

In short, the terms had nearly crippled Sunagakure.

Having narrowly evaded an assasination attempt on his life by the Sand council and removing that same council from power, Gaara took up a temporary role as the village's leader until a suitable candidate for the office of Kazekage could be found. At first he had been offered the job, but Gaara politely refused. He wasn't truly Kage material, his entire life he let the Shukaku do most of the fighting for him. He never really learned to fight on his own, mostly he would learn ninjutsu and genjutsu and leave the rest to the crazy sand demon inside of now that he saw the error in his technique, Gaara dedicated the rest of his time to training his body to not rely entirely on Shukaku's influence.

By the end of the second year since the Invasion of Konoha, Gaara and his siblings were now jounin, and integral in teaching the next generation.

Meanwhile the village itself had to change; getting new councilors to fill in for the old, conservative ones was hard but benefitted the village greatly, having new ideas and willing to be flexible in times of crisis. After adopting the training program for new recruits from the Hidden Village of Konoha, the ranks of ninja for Suna had steadily grown, thus giving the village some hope of restoring its lost glory.

The debate went on for a new Kazekage, but finally after two months a candidate was chosen: Yura, a war veteran who had settled down to become a politician had been a part of the old council but had helped aid in its removal. He himself wished to step down, embarrased at being associated with his former colleagues, but Gaara saw within this man a leader. With the rest of the jounin's consent, Yura was named Godaime Kazekage.

His thoughts interrupted when an aide strode out to the balcony and bowed.

"Gaara-sama, the Kazekage is holding a meeting. He wishes to discuss the current negotiations with the upstart Land of Earth over the Stone Country."

Looking over himself, especially at his jounin vest which reminded him of the big part that he now played in the village, Gaara nodded, "I'm ready."

* * *

**A/N: Annnd. . . done! Trying to finish this chapter while studying for my exams was hard! But a made a commitment to finish by April and here I am. **

**So the chapter was a lot like the first and second episodes of Naruto Shippuden. So what? It's just the beginning of the story, and I intend to follow through making this different than the main series. For instance, you were probably a little surprised I made Yura the Kazekage, right?**


	3. Red Clouds

**The third chapter will be the last part of Naruto settling back in Konoha, then we may move on to rescue Gaara, I promise. Naruto's new skill set will be explained more into the story, just to let you know how much he has improved as well as Sakura.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were both irritated, very much in fact for being forced to wait for the past forty-five minutes for their tardy sensei and the front gate to the third training ground.

"Just how long does Kakashi-sensei have to force us to wait here?" Naruto grumbled as he paced back and forth.

"Well, he's always been like this," Sakura sighed, "We should know better by now that he would do this to us."

Naruto sat on the ground dejectdedly with his legs crossed and humphed, "Seriously! I thought he would act more responsible after all this time we put in to our training!"

Coughing to suppress a giggle, Sakura shook her head, "The only thing that changed with Kakashi-sensei was with the new book you got him. Guess we just have to wait and yell at him when he finally gets here."

Naruto nodded, and decided to think back on what he learned earlier. It came a surprise to him that Shikamaru and Temari acted as delegates between Konoha and Suna, but what had surprised him even more was the fact that everyone from the Rookie Nine had become chunin or jounin. Sakura had retaken the Chunin exams and was the first to achieve the rank of chunin before anyone else, yet Shikamaru and Neji were given high honors and made jounin. Now he was just the only genin left, and that was somewhat discouraging.

Naruto then suddenly froze, and an evil grin came to his face.

"What is it?" Sakura was curious.

"Guess who is getting here early," Naruto pointed over to the dust cloud down the road.

At first Sakura couldn't make out the shapes, but when they got closer, Sakura had trouble stiffling a laugh. It was a comical sigh, with Kakashi being carried by a bunch of Naruto clones. The jounin looked as if he had put up a struggle and was still trying to wiggle out of the shadow clones clutches, but they had a firm hold on the tardy teacher.

With bad grace the clones promptly dropped Kakashi to the ground in front of his two students. The clones saluted their summoner who gave them a nod of appreciation.

Kakashi was far from amused.

"Is it appropriate to drag me halfway across Konoha to these gates?" Kakashi dusted himself off as all the clones in the vincinity vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Speak for yourself, sensei!" Sakura snapped, "You were supposed to be here at least an hour ago!"

Scratching the back of his head nervously, Kakashi gave yet another of his infamous excuses, "Well you see, there was an old lady who. . ."

"That's a lie!" both Naruto and Sakura screamed simultaneously.

After a minute or so of verbally berating their sensei, Naruto and Sakura revisited the area that made them a team: Training Ground #3.

The field was moderately-sized, surrounded by a grove of trees with a small river flowing on one side of the clearing. But what stood out the most were the three posts in the middle of the field.

"Wow, now this place brings back memories," Naruto remarked as he scanned the field. Sakura stood beside him and nodded, feeling nostalgic of it all.

"I remember this place as well," Kakashi spared a glance from his book, "This is where you both took the bell exercise to become genin."

Sakura smiled fondly, "We were Team 7."

"A three-man cell, huh?" Naruto mumbled, recalling who used to be on the team before he left.

Kakashi remembered too and sighed, "Back then Sasuke was still with us."

Both Naruto and Sakura remembered the last moments they had with their former friend. For Sakura, he packed up his things and left her unconscious on the bench; Naruto on the other hand had to fight the rogue Uchiha at the Valley of the End and could still feel the place where Sasuke punctured his lung.

Kakashi recalled talking to Sasuke on his foolish act of challenging Naruto on top of the hospital. He had hoped some of his words may have gotten through to him, yet the last of his clan refused to listen to reason and chose power over his friends; when he first heard of his desertion, it hit him in the heart like a sledgehammer. A part of him expected this to happen, but until then he hadn't been prepared to hear it.

Tearing his gaze from his book, Kakashi sweatdropped to see that his two students were now depressed. Sakura who was the toughest was sitting down and wrapped her arms around her knees while Naruto was doing something akin to the downward-facing dog.

_"Sasuke's name is taboo around those two. . ."_

Bringing out the bells from his pouch and jingling them to catch Naruto and Sakura's attention, Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well it is about time I see how the two of you have improved over the years. You haven't given up on Sasuke yet, have you?"

The two students picked themselves up.

"Of course not!" Sakura spoke resolutely.

"That's why I have been training," Naruto had the fires of determination dancing in his eyes.

Kakashi smiled, clipping the two bells to his side, "Remember that the rules are the same as before: come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you won't get these bells."

Naruto tightened his hiate while Sakura got out her gloves and slid them on. Kakashi meanwhile stowed his book safely away in his pouch.

"You already done with that book, sensei?" Sakura teased as she flexed her left hand.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to give you two my full attention," Kakashi winked, "My hobby can wait."

Naruto and Sakura tensed as their sensei revealed his Sharingan, signalling the beginning of the test.

* * *

The deserts of the Land of Wind were iconic for their vastness and difficulty to travel, it proved hard for invading armies to cross the trackless wastes just to seize a town or village only to have it be taken back by the Suna ninja who knew their country like the back of their hand.

If you were to travel from the border town seperating the Land of Birds from Sunagakure itself, you would need to bring along these valuable life-saving items: a tent, thirty pounds of rations, eight gallons of water for each person in your group, and a mode of transportation. Yet the two figures who were nearing the canyon entrance to Sunagakure lacked any.

They walked towards the canyon at a leisurely pace, both of them were wearing odd clothing consisting of black cloaks decorated with red clouds and their faces hidden by bamboo hats. The taller figure was noticeably put off by the desert sandstorm, but maintained his position alongside his companion, who appeared to be hunched over and very bulky, but slithered across the sand and seemed to be unaffected by the sandstorm.

"The Leader couldn't have picked a lousier day than this to capture the Ichibi, yeah Sasori?" the taller one muttered digging his hand through one of his special clay pouches.

"If you had been any smarter, you would have realized that this storm is serving as cover when we reach the canyon's crevice," Sasori didn't have to remind Deidara this, since they had already been briefed by the Leader to endure the conditions until they got to Sunagakure.

"Sure," Deidara said absentmindedly as he lifted a chunk of clay, the mouth on his hand swallowed the substance and chewing it, "Now I remember. But won't stealth be moot when they finally spot us from the canyon? The fight will only scare the village to retaliate."

Sasori looked ahead of him and could clearly see the canyon ahead. Certainly the Suna ninja were either blind or already dead.

"Before the death of the Fourth Kazekage, I had planted an agent within the ranks of Suna," the hunched man rasped, "He will clear a path for us. All you need to do is to capture the jinchuuriki and make it quick before they marshall their forces."

As soon as they reached the foot of the canyon, they could see the Suna ninja had already been taken care of. Many of the bodies were still intact, but quite a few looked like they had been sliced and diced. Only one figure stood in midst the slain, wearing the standard Suna jounin fatigues and the cloak of the Kazekage.

Deidara's eyes widened, clearly he had not expected Sasori to get an agent into the seat of village leader.

"Are your forces expecting us?" Sasori questioned the Godaime Kazekage, who knelt to the hunched man like a slave to his master.

"Yes, Sasori-sama. All our forces are on shifts, they rotate every hour and a half. There should only be three on lookout with a few others on patrol. I have done everything in my power to keep security at a minimal."

"Very good, Kazekage-sama," Sasori congratulated his minion and turned to Deidara, "Well, you know what is next."

Recovering from his astonishment, the clay-user smirked, "I admit Sasori-sama, your art is incredible."

He molded a lump of clay into a small bird and threw it to the ground several meters ahead of himself. With a smirk, he did a handsign.

A large poof of smoke later, and the bird was as big as an elephant, beating its wings against the ground in sensing its makers anticipation.

Deidara turned to his partner with a smirk, "But my art is a masterpiece."

* * *

Naruto was the first to move, he met Kakashi and the two got locked into a taijutsu match. Being noticeably quicker than his teacher, Naruto was mainly on the offensive, while Kakashi relied on his Sharingan to track his student's punches and kicks. Grabbing a fist that got too close, Kakashi swung his relentless attacker away from him, hoping to get a moment of respite.

However, Naruto wasn't finished. He threw a bunch of shuriken which Kakashi ducked under, and retaliated by throwing some shuriken of his own. Leaping and creating a Kage Bushin, Naruto swung it over towards his mentor and did another handsign. The clone flying at Kakashi exploded into a great fireball, nearly engulfing the silver-haired jounin.

"Shit!" Kakashi felt the intense heat of the flames searing his hair, _"It appears Jiraiya taught Naruto how to detonate his clones. I just hope Sakura hasn't learned anything quite that. . ."_

Glancing upward, Kakashi's single Sharingan eye widened in surprise as he saw Sakura hurtling down towards him. He dodged just in time before Sakura's fist that made impact with the ground, splintering it beneath her and creating a crater fifty feet in diameter. Naruto was dumbfounded as he lost his footing and fell to the ground. He himself had managed to go toe-to-toe with Kakashi-sensei, yet he really didn't expect Sakura to be that powerful.

He smiled, with a strange light in his eyes and thought, _"I shouldn't make a fool of myself in front of Sakura. She could kill me!"_

Kakashi in the meantime was trying to swallow a lump in his throat. If he had been on the recieving end of that punch, he might not recognize his face in the mirror tommorow. She focused all her chakra into one of her fists, and releases it all at once. Without such precise chakra control, Sakura wouldn't be able to accomplish such a feat.

And her smile. Sakura was wearing the same confident smirk Naruto always wore whenever presented with a challenge. She had the strength given by Tsunade, and Naruto taught his clones how to explode, this meant that taijutsu was out of the question.

Things had gotten a lot worse for Kakashi.

* * *

Deidara laughed on the inside as he watched three guards that had been posted for guard duty fell without a sound. He had covertly sent three spider-shaped clay bombs to attach themselves to the unaware Suna ninja and had them injected with a deadly neurotoxin, courtesy of Sasori-sama's many poisons. So far it had been a cakewalk to infiltrate the village so far. Obviously Yura had went through great lengths to keep Sunagakure's security at a minimal, otherwise slipping behind enemy lines may have been more difficult.

Leaping from his mount and onto the top of the Kazekage tower, Deidara felt this had gone a bit too smoothly. And he was right.

Like a phantom, Gaara was before him. Standing before the infiltrater impassive with a calm, yet cold stare, the red-haired target was a nexus of chakra, it swirled around him like the sand in his gourd was right now.

"So you knew I was coming?" Deidara smiled, knowing that his experience with capturing four other Bijuu would definetely pay off in the coming fight.

"There are no birds of such immense size in the Land of Wind," Gaara spoke calmly, one of his eyes was staring at the huge clay-bird hovering in the air.

"Ah, I see," Deidara nodded, "Well, at least you've come out to play, Gaara of the Sand."

A column of sand lashed out and almost snagged Deidara, who jumped to safety to his mount. The sand shot out and pursued its target, with other strands following. The chase took Deidara out of the village limits, forcing the clay-user to do a u-turn back to Sunagakure while the sand still trailed behind him. Diving toward the streets in an attempt to lose his relentless foe, Deidara knew he had only a limited time before all the ninja in the damn village arose to fight him.

Taking a sharp right into another street and startling some Suna ninja on patrol, Deidara's mind was racing until he came up with a devious countermeasure in case the village rose in arms.

A quick look showed that his left hand was almost finished forming his latest work of art, the clay-user gasped and shot upward as another column of sand raced to meet him from the front. Now he had two. . .no, another deadly are of sand just joined the party. . .three sand columns in hot pursuit of the intruder.

To his surprise, the three came together to form a large animal-like hand, that reached out to grasp Deidara.

"This kid is good," the clay-user commented, "Manipulating the wind and sand is no small feat. If only we had decided to take this Jinchuuriki during the botched Invasion of Konohagakure, maybe I wouldn't be in such a mess."

Back near the canyon's exit, Sasori shook his head, "Leave it to Deidara to cause such an uproar."

The puppetmaster turned to the Godaime Kazekage, "Yura, it would be best if you head back down to the village to resume your duty. It would be bad if they caught you away from your post. Your sand clone won't be able to cover for you much longer."

"Hai, Sasori-sama," Yura shushined away.

Now alone, the hunchback looked up at the distant speck that was his partner who was now duking it out with the village's secret weapon, "You better hurry up, Deidara. I hate being kept waiting."

Meanwhile a few of the Suna ninja arose from their sleep and came out to watch in shock as Gaara faced the intruder. Now being held aloft by the huge hand that had the distinct shape of one of the Ichibi's paws, the red-haired jinchuuriki stared down his opponent. Kankurou was among those watching the spectacle in the sky, worried for the safety of his little brother. He had tried to marshal the awakened Suna ninja to protect Gaara, but the two combatants were simply out of reach.

"Besides," one jounin moaned, "What good will it do to interfere? We'll be just getting in the way."

The giant hand of the Ichibi swiped at Deidara, who flew around it and threw out two smaller clay birds which detonated, blowing off chunks of the arm. A few more he released to injure or mutilate the Jinchuuriki, but were caught just in time by a few more strands of sand moving to intercept.

_"His justu uses some type of homing feature," Gaara analyzed, "He can control his clay bombs from a distance, a lot like me and my sand."_

Forming a more streamlined and versatile explosive clay birds, they proved more effective and broke through the sand strands easily. Seeing he was in danger, Gaara hastily formed a protective sphere around himself, letting the explosives impact against the hardened sand.

_"Damn," _Deidara thought bitterly, _"The type of sand he is using right now is no longer the same desert sand he used to attack with me before. It is that specialized sand that he keeps in his gourd. Sasori-sama's intel says it is his absolute defense. The only weakness is that there is a set amount of it, which means I still have one chance to pull this off."_

The clay-uses could see a part of the protective barrier around Gaara had fallen away, exposing his face which glared at the Akatsuki member with suppressed fury.

"I'm sick of looking at your impassive face," Deidara sneered as he brought out another work of art, a small homing pidgeon. Working with quick dilligence, Deidara's hands spat out another creation: a bomb that would most likely level the entire village.

Gaara's eyes widened when Deidara threw out a large clod of clay in front of him, and then enlarged it to the size of a three story house.

"Say goodbye to your village!" the clay-user shouted and let the bomb fall like a boulder.

Down below, ninja and civilian screamed alike and tried to find shelter from their inevitable doom. Time seemed to slow down for Gaara as he watched the huge bomb descend on his village. The people down there were depending on him to protect Sunagakure. He had to stop Akatsuki here and now!

Reacting quickly Gaara excerted a large amount of his chakra and his demon's youki to form a barrier around the explosion. As the bomb detonated, the sand barrier shuddered violently from the blast but managed to keep it contained, forcing most of the explosion skyward. Panting from such an exertion his body took. He had used up four-fifths of his youki to save the village, all he needed to do right now was quickly catch his breath before the clay-user started his counterattack.

If Gaara had just turned his head slightly to the left, he would have seen the homing pidgeon that Deidara made previously before he had dropped his bomb. But what he did feel was the intense, brief pain felt when the pidgeon exploded, knocking Gaara unconscious.

* * *

Kakashi narrowly dodged another punch from Sakura, which shattered a tree down the middle. His students certainly did improve alot in a span of two and a half years, and even when Naruto and Sakura had been separated from each other they worked together as though they had trained together the entire time.

The Copycat ninja landed in the same field he started out at, with both of his students just standing five meters from him.

"Well, you two have certainly improved," Kakashi drawled, "It's like your two different people, really. Which is why I must take the gloves off."

In an instant his hands were a blur, doing seals that not even Naruto or Sakura could follow, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu."

"Suiton: Suiryuudan!" Naruto yelled out, gathering the water form the stream to form the head of a mighty dragon. It raced over to where its caster stood and coiled around to meet the giant fireball.

Fire and water clashed as they erupted into a hot spray of steam. Kakashi's eyes widened, _"Since when did he have the water affinity to. . ."_

His thoughts were interrupted when a stone pillar caught him in the chest, knocking the air out of him. Looking up in surprise, he could see it had bee Sakura who had been the cause of it.

_"Ah, and Sakura knows Doton jutsu."_

Doing another series of handseals, Kakashi yelled out, "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!"

A multitude of fireball erupted from Kakashi's mouth, forcing Naruto to do some handseals of his own.

"Suiton: Teppodama!" a bunch of water bullets flew out and negated the fire, but Kakashi had already started doing another jutsu.

"Suiton: Haran Bansho!" the river convulsed as if alive and immediately a towering wave rose up and crashed down on Naruto and Sakura who had little time to get away. Riding on top of the wave, Kakashi looked out to where his two students had dissappeared into the waves. If they were smart, they would be in hiding, trying to come up with a strategy to take him down.

Coughing, Sakura leaned against a tree, soaked all the way through. She looked over at Naruto, who was just as drenched as she was.

Giving her his carefree smile, Naruto couldn't help but making a joke, "Well, that was actually refreshing. I was getting kind of sweaty after fighting Kakashi-sensei for awhile."

Sakura giggled, happy that her teammate could be so carefree, "So that means we shouldn't hold back as well?"

"Nope."

* * *

Kakashi was on his knees, he was dumbfounded at how easily the two of his students had him at their mercy. He was among the best jounin in Konohagakure. His taijutsu was almost as perfect as Maito Gai's, his genjutsu was nearly on par with Kurenai, and the ninjutsu at his disposal gave him the title, "Copycat Ninja." He was someone not to be reckoned with, a true shinobi genius of the highest grade.

In the four hours since the fight began, Kakashi learned that even legends such as himself would be outdone by the next generation. He had pulled out everything in his arsenal against his two students and yet they still kept coming. Sure, they were without their war wounds. Naruto's outfit had a few cuts in several places and a large bruise was forming on his cheek, his body was covered in splinters, cuts, and even a few burns. Even Sakura at one time was caked in mud after one of her jutsu was used against her by Kakashi, and she still showed signs of dirt and sweat.

All in all the two of them had exceeded expectations, being able to work so well together and coordinate their attacks with each other was a testament to Naruto and Sakura's teamwork. They were exhausted, but now they had the upper hand.

"So sensei, what's it going to be?" Sakura teased the jounin as she held the little green book over the rivers surface.

"What if you do drop it in," Kakashi tried to sound disinterested, "I could always buy a new one."

"True, but this wasn't even published yet," Naruto stood next to Sakura with a cheeky grin, "It doesn't come out in two months, and this copy happens to be signed by the author."

Kakashi silently muttered an expletive. It was true that the book was a gift, yet his entire career as a jounin was on the line. If word got out that his student's beat him by taking his little precious book as a hostage, he would never hear the end of it. His peers would mock him, tease him constantly of his weakness, and his reputation would obviously plummet.

"If you have trouble deciding the exchange, I could spoil the ending for you, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto warned the Copycat ninja.

Kakashi's head snapped up. Screw his reputation!

"Here are the bells!" the desperate jounin threw out two identical bells, "You can check for genjutsu and all that, just don't tell me the ending!"

Naruto looked at Sakura in mock surprise, "You think he's serious, Sakura-chan?"

Playing along, the pink-haired kunoichi put a hand to her mouth, "Oh, I don't know Naruto, what if its a trap?"

"Ok, the two of you? Stop. I mean, please just hand me the book back, you win," Kakashi begged.

Giving each other a look, Naruto took the bells from the ground while Sakura threw the book to her sensei, who caught it and held on to it like a mother with her child.

"Oh, and just to let you know, I never got around to finishing the book," Naruto shrugged, "I read up till chapter two and stopped there, you know, because of my training. It wasn't a great read anyway."

Kakashi was scandalized. He had not only been beaten, but humiliated. This would go on his record: a huge, ugly smear that would stand out from his victories and successes. The life he knew was over, it had. . .

"Oh, and for your sake, we'll keep this embarrassing defeat a secret between us. Is that okay, sensei?" Sakura querried while Naruto just smiled.

If Kakashi could have, he would have hugged the both of his students. Then again, Sakura would be flustered and Naruto would be creeped out. And besides, he still had some of his dignity left.

* * *

**Author's Note: And just like that, two fights are done. Hopefully I didn't take long for any of you, but my Biology class is the number one priority as of now. In the next chapter, will Gaara be rescued or will Suna be unable to launch a rescue mission like in the original storyline?**


	4. Omake 1: Konoha's Mail Room 1

**Now to introduce something different. . .**

**Omake Time! **

**Episode 1: Fan Mail**

(Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi are sitting in a small room at a table. Above them reads a sign saying, "Konohagakure Mailing Service.")

Sakura: Ohayo! And welcome to Konoha's fan mail room! Today I have with me Naruto and Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto: Whattsup!

Kakashi: (his attention is focused on his little book) Yo.

Sakura: In this small omake we have set up we will be taking questions some of our fans have been mailing us so that we may answer them for your viewing!

Naruto: It's pretty basic, all your questions will be pointed on the scree behind us (he motions to the screen on the wall) and we'll answer as much as we can.

Sakura: Alright, so just to let you know these questions have come from our recent reviews, so for those who have been chosen will get a huge congratulations from us!

Naruto: And maybe the author who has too much time on his hands will look at some of your own fanfics, just because you finish your latest chapter doesn't grant you the privelage to relax. I mean, you have like ninety chapters to go. . .

Sakura: (raises her fist) Naruto?

Naruto: Eh, yeah. Sorry I got carried away there.

Sakura: Right, so here we have our first review from gogt12. The question he asks is, "I do have one question will Naruto also have wind as an element because i can't see a water rasengan."

Naruto: Well to answer your question gogt12, during my time training with Jiraiya, the old lecher finally came to his senses and decided to take my training seriously, which will be explained later as the story unfolds. My primary element as you may well know is wind while I have a secondary in water, but I had only enough time to show you my water technique when fighting Kakashi.

Sakura: I don't think you could have made it any clearer.

Naruto: So that's it? I mean, we only answered one question.

Sakura: True, but we only agreed to answer reviews from the latest chapter. Henceforth, we only had one review with a question on it.

Naruto: Bummer.

Sakura: (addressing the reader) So why not review and ask us questions! We promise to not let them go unanswered!

Naruto: You have anything to add, Kakashi-sensei?

Kakashi: (Still reading his book) No, I'm fine.

(Sakura and Naruto give their sensei an exasperated stare)

Kakashi: What?

Sakura: You know, Kakashi-sensei. It has been seven hours already and since then you haven't stopped reading that book.

Naruto: And you didn't really participate along with us while we checked the fan review. A part of me now regrets giving you that book in the first place.

Kakashi: (Clutching his little book firmly and bringing it to his chest) Yes, and is it a problem that I focus on my hobby a little too much?

Naruto: (dryly) It's not a hobby, it's an obsession.

Sakura: Maybe you need some time off the porno, Kakashi-sensei (starts reaching for the book).

Kakashi: (Moves the book out of Sakura's reach)

Sakura: (A large tick mark appears on her forehead) Sensei. . . (She swipes at the book but misses, forcing Kakashi out of his seat)

Kakashi: Now hold on a minute! Since when is it appropriate to take my beloved possession away from me?

Naruto: Since you started calling that dirty book, "beloved possession." You need help Kakashi-sensei.

(Naruto and Sakura slowly advance on Kakashi, who has by now backed into a corner)

Kakashi: Wh-What are you going to do? ( He holds the book to his chest as if it was his only child)

**Scene Break**

Naruto: Once again we would like to thank you for staying with us and hope to see you again.

Sakura: Please be sure to check up on us later, we promise to have the next chapter out as soon as possible! (Gives the peace sign)

Kakashi ( Looking down at his lap and rocking slowly in his chair) Where did you hide my book? I was about to find out if Yuuta was going to finally come clean with his feelings for Rei. . .

Naruto: (exasperated) Should we do something about him.

Sakura: Let him walk it off.

* * *

Authors Note:I've always wanted to do one of the omakes like those in shippuden. Some of them were funny, others not so funny. The reason why I did this in script form was to get it done quickly so I can focus on my school work and the new chapter. Only one week to go until Summer vacation for me!


	5. Gaara in Peril! Deploy Team Kakashi!

**To those who read the omake, I will only do those whenever I feel it is most appropriate, so don't expect me to do one every single chapter.**

**And as for the current arc I'm on? Can't say not much will change, but it will be near the end that things will be altered slightly just to make it more interesting. Yura is Kazekage, why not? It's not as if Gaara becomes Kazekage in the span of two and a half years just because people in his village immediately start to like him. His growth as a hero rather than a pariah will be shown in later chapters.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Gaara in Peril! Deploy Team Kakashi!**

It had been forty minutes since Naruto and Sakura's triumph in the bell test and having their team dissolved into Team Kakashi, just a master and his two students who considered to be on the same level. To celebrate the occasion, Naruto convinced Sakura to have a bowl or two at Ichiraku's.

The pink-haired kunoichi agreed, so long as Kakashi payed the bill.

The two of them left behind Kakashi, who felt left out from his two student's who made a beeline to the Ramen stand. To think those little rascals used to hang on to every word he said back before they were bumbling genin.

"Kakashi?" Jiraiya appeared right next to the Copy Cat Ninja, "As I promised , he is yours to train now."

Up ahead Naruto and Sakura turned back to where there sensei stood.

"Kakashi-sensei, this will be your treat, right?" Naruto yelled out and continued along his way with Sakura, the both of them chanting, "Treat! Treat!" down the street.

Jiraiya smiled at the pairs antics, "I told Naruto of his heritage, I felt he had been kept in the dark for too long."

Kakashi gaped at the Toad Hermit, "Are you sure?"

Jiraiya gave him a stern look, "As the boy's sensei you should know better than to keep secrets from the kid. He needs to be let on in on who he is, otherwise he will distrust us for witholding his birthright."

The whole subject with Naruto and his parents had been pretty controversial to Kakashi. Back when he was alive, the Sandaime was a man of many secrets, he feared the blond jinchuriki's reaction when being told of his heritage. After nearly eleven years of being an orphan whose sole existence was to be treated like vermin, how would Naruto react? Would he abandon the village like Tsunade, become another Konohamaru, or even worse, turn into a rebel as Asuma had done in his early years as a ninja?

_"Naruto is a wild card, therefore it would be too risky to tell him now," _Sarutobi summed it up. Being a jinchuriki he was a walking, breathing weapon that others could use to wreak havoc. Therefore it was a safer option to tell the boy of his family when he matured and his faith in the village was at its strongest.

Looking at the retreating figure of the orange ninja, Kakashi ventured a question, "How did he handle it?"

"At first he was overjoyed, as expected," Jiraiya shook his head, "But then he began asking questions as to why he hadn't been told earlier, so I gave him the most basic answer: that if word got out, other villages would react and declare war. The Yondaime certainly did not make too many friends in the war."

"What about Kushina?"

"I told him what I knew about her the best I could. She was a mystery, as well as her entire clan itself. From what I could gather they had many enemies in the past that had died out a long time ago, but still they were wiped out at Uzushiogakure by Mist ninja, which doesn't surprise me since the Uzumaki clan were experts in the Sealing arts and otherworldly powers."

Kakashi caught on to where Jiraiya was going, "So you took Naruto. . ."

"To Uzushiogakure? Yes, but there really wasn't much left. All of their knowledge gathered over countless gone, most likely the remaining Uzumaki's destroyed it when they were being attacked," Jiraiya turned to the Copy Cat ninja with a raised eyebrow, "This you already know of course."

Kakashi nodded, remembering the mission he had at Uzushiogakure just five weeks before Obito died. They had been sent there when Kushina requested to go back to her home village to 'see if it was still open.' Naturally, she got her fiance to come along with her, and her fears turned out to be a false alarm. . . or so they hoped.

"Now that he knows more about his parents and his legacy, the boy will have a lot more responsibilities," Jiraiya looked sternly at the jounin, "So you need to help him along whenever he needs it. With Akatsuki finally on the move, I believe this world is about to become a lot more dangerous."

Meanwhile Naruto was blissfully unaware of the serious conversation between Jiraiya and Kakashi and was already on his third bowl of Ramen.

"Ahhh, I forgot how good this stuff was," Naruto said affectionately.

"Naruto, we've been at the stand for only five minutes and you've already inhaled three bowls. Try to slow it down before you get a stomach- ache," Sakura chided her teammate as she used her chopsticks to play with her noodles.

"But there was hardly any Ramen stands anywhere when I traveled," Naruto whined, "I actually had to eat something different each day.

Clicking her tongue at Naruto's childish antics, Sakura turned to smile at Ayame, "Arigatou, Ayame-chan. I need to get going, I've got a lot of paperwork to handle at the moment since Tsunade-shishou has been falling behind lately."

The Ramen stand keeper nodded, "Good luck then!" indicating she knew of the Godaime's reluctance to deal with paperwork.

"Nani? Sakura-chan, you're going to leave me?" Naruto sounded surprised, "But whose gonna pay?"

"I'm pretty sure Kakashi-sensei has a tab! See you later!" Sakura hurried out into the streets until she was no longer in sight.

Ayame shook her head, "That girl has been coming here for quite some time now. The two of us would always talk about stuff going on in the village. She's real nice to have around."

Naruto's ears perked up, "Did she by chance talk about me?"

Teuchi had been working on the latest batch of Ramen noodles while at the same time listening in laughed, "Occassionaly she and my daughter would share stories about you, most of which I find quite funny."

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Naruto was about to reply when someone else entered the stand.

"Ah, Naruto! You finally returned!"

Turning around, Naruto was overjoyed to see it was his favorite instructor, Umino Iruka. Since his days at the Ninja Academy had been dreadful, Iruka had been the only chunin instructor who really cared for Naruto. When other teachers tried to impede Naruto's progress or sometimes even try to sabotage him, Iruka was their to correct Naruto and set him on the right track.

It wasn't until his third graduation did Naruto realize the depth of Iruka's affection for him. When Mizuki tried to kill him, Iruka had been there to save him and to defend him against the rogue teacher's accusations. He was there to even present him with his headband, signifying Naruto as a ninja of Konohagakure.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto restrained himself from leaping up to hug his first mentor.

"Would you mind if I ate with you, Naruto?" the chunin smiled as he sat next to his favorite pupil.

"Not at all!" Naruto said happily.

Clearing his throat, Teuchi set down a bowl of steaming ramen, "On the house: Ichiraku Ramen Deluxe! Now eat up before it gets cold!"

Thanking the old ramen stand owner, Naruto began to demolish his bowl of delicious noodles. Iruka smiled fondly, remembering when Naruto first asked for the headband when he was still in his class. Now he was probably even stronger than he was right now, if the reports of his fight with Kakashi proved to be accurate.

_"Naruto, it is amazing how you've grown up. I wonder what the Sandaime would say if he saw how mature you are now."_

As Naruto took in a huge gulp and moaned of how much he missed his favorite food, Iruka's smile got wider, _"And yet you're the same Naruto I still remember. . ."_

"But there's one thing I'm not quite happy with. . ."

Iruka looked up confused with the blonde's statement.

"Hey, don't tell me there is something wrong with my cooking!" Teuchi growled while Ayame put her hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

"Now papa, I'm sure he isn't talking about the food."

"Ayame-chan's right, the ramen is the best," Naruto held up his hands, "I just thought the next time Iruka-sensei would sit down to have ramen with me would be the time I was a chunin."

Iruka frowned, knowing where this was going.

"All of my classmates have become chunin while some have already advanced to jounin. I'm the only genin left," Naruto muttered, "It's like the ninja academy all over again."

"It doesn't matter whether you are a genin or chunin," Iruka said reasurringly, "After all, you trained personally with Master Jiraiya. I'm sure you might be on the same level as your friends."

Naruto's smile returned, much to Iruka's relief, "Yeah, I guess you're right Iruka-sensei. Ero-sennin really trained me to the bone, even my clothes and headband cloth got tattered so I had to replace them with this," he emphasized by pulling on his new ninja attire.

"So the training you recieved really did help you out," Iruka smiled at his former student who smiled back.

"Yeah, and that's just a step closer to being Hokage! I just might be able to beat you someday, Iruka-sensei!"

"Right," Iruka laughed, and resumed to feast on his ramen alongside Naruto, _"Though I think you might be several steps ahead of me by now, Naruto."_

* * *

Sasori finally caught sight of Deidara and his giant clay owl, and fought down the urge to verbally abuse his partner. To be honest, this was Deidara's quickest capture yet, which surprised Sasori since the clay user seemed to take his time when hunting down the target.

Looking back to where Sunagakure was, Sasori could hear the warning sirens going off as the small fires were scattered throughout the village.

_"Very impressive, Deidara," _Sasori felt his respect for his junior partner grow, "_You're causing enough chaos just to keep Sunagakure's forces busy instead of giving chase."_

Deidara finally landed in front of his partner, the jinchuriki held securely by the clay owls tail feathers.

"Mission accomplished, Sasori-sama."

The senior Akatsuki member nodded, "And I see you've caused a ruckus back in my home village. . ."

Deidara shrugged indifferently, "The Sand Jinchuuriki made all the noise, I was the one trying to be stealthy."

"Then let us leave before the muster their forces," Sasori spat, "Unlike you, I have taken precautions to place mines around the area to impede their progress."

"Well then," Deidara motioned to the place behind him on the owl, "Get on and we'll leave this place behind us."

"I'd rather walk," and with that Sasori headed straight toward the desert.

Deidara looked at his senior partner for a while before smirking, "Fine, I think I'll join you."

Leaping off from his bird and walking alongside Sasori with the owl carrying their hostage flying just above them, Akatsuki had captured another Jinchuuriki.

Meanwhile, Suna security forces led by Kankuro gave chase until they came across the pass in which they found what remained of the security team left to guard the entrance to the village. One of the Suna jonins in charge of guarding the pass stirred, calling out feebly for help. A young chunin ran to help him up before he spotted the explosive tag on the injured ninja's chest.

A loud explosion soon followed, then a couple of more until the pass itself collapsed, burying the Suna ninja in the avalanche.

* * *

Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment and flicked on the light switch and was surprised to see his room was exactly the way he left it. No hints of dust, cobwebs, nothing needed to be cleaned. It was as if he had never left for his trip with Jiraiya in the first place.

He noticed a note laying on his bed, curious he went to pick it up. Naruto's heart raced when he saw who it was from:

_Naruto,_

_Ever since you've left I have taken it upon myself to clean up your apartment, despite there being a cleaning staff that seems to skip over your apartment every now and then. For now on can you please not leave your Ramen cups scattered everywhere? One of them had a colony of pillbugs living in it!_

_- Sakura_

The blond jinchuriki smiled, glad that Sakura was looking out for him even when he was miles away from home. Stretching out a emitting a yawn, Naruto wondered where he last put his favorite nightcap.

* * *

Kakashi read the last few sentences on his little green book and with a great sense of satisfaction clamped it shut. Another of Jiraiya-sama's masterpiece's, a book for the ages surely, who wouldn't spend their earnings on such a fine book?

_"Well, might as well get some sleep so I'm fueled for tommorow. I have no idea what Naruto and Sakura might throw at me," _Kakashi thought lazily as he began to lay down in bed only for something to catch his eye.

It was the sun. It wasn't setting.

_"Huh. . . morning already?" _a sense of dread fell over Kakashi. He read for the entire night without sleeping?

He turned to his clock. It read eight o' clock. Not good.

"Oh shit, now I remember," Kakashi got out of bed and stumbled towards his desk, "I still haven't made the unit list for the new team. Not good, not good at all. . ."

The Copycat Ninja had an idea how Tsunade would react to having learned that he spent the entire night reading a pornographic novel rather than staying focused on his duties as a jounin. First she would verbally lash at him then give him some demeaning chore to do just to teach him a lesson.

But if Kakashi could finish the unit list just before the deadline, then maybe he wouldn't recieve such a brutal punishment. But how could he finish all these papers in under an hour? If only he had the extensive chakra Naruto had to create dozens of Kage Bushin. . .

His trail of thought came to an abrupt end, as Kakashi came up with a brilliant idea.

* * *

Temari was already on her way towards her home village, after closing the door to her apartment provided to her special by the Hokage herself, she tightened her headband and took her first step to a long journey back home.

It was still early, so early in fact that none of Konoha's citizens had come out just yet, so it was just Temari all by herself.

"What're you doing up so early?"

Scratch that, it was just her and Shikamaru who was leaning on the side of a building, "Everyone is still sleeping you know."

Temari had at first been a little reluctant being stuck with the Nara to plan the upcoming Chunin exams between the Leaf and Sand, his laziness could only drag her down. At first she was right, Shikamaru was the first to say right off the bat, "How troublesome," and said that Temari could do better with another partner, but Tsunade was firm in her decision, and thus Temari and Shikamaru became partners.

It had been a stickly relationship at first, with Shikamaru getting on Temari's nerves and she giving him a headache in return; but overtime, the two started to get along with each other. The best explanation to their sudden friendship was the fact the two had managed to find something they like about each other.

Despite the speculation, both Shikamaru and Temari claimed to be just acquaintences, nothing else, though that did little to stop the rumors going on between Konoha and Suna's younger generations.

"I can't leave my village unattended for too long. . ." Temari began as she walked alongside Shikamaru, "My business in Konohagakure is finished."

"And you think you can make it back to Sunagakure without any breakfast?" Shikamaru said skeptically, "Or have you just started dieting like Ino did when she was fresh from the academy?"

Temari grinned, "I'll stop by a teahouse along the way. By the way, that still doesn't explain why you were waiting for me."

"It's a pain, but I'm still your guide," Shikamaru grunted, "It's a neccesary evil since the both of us were chosen to be the planners for the next Chunin exams."

Temari shoved him playfully, "Then it has to be a hassle for you."

It took some time before the two of them reached Konoha's main gate, by then it was already nine o' clock.

"Right here is fine," Temari said, shouldering her pack which held the belongings she took with her on her trip.

"The next time we meet, it will be at the Chunin exams, huh?" Shikamaru seemed a little down, but when was he ever cheerful?

"Yeah," Temari smiled, "Well. . . see you until then."

She took her first few steps through the huge gate then stopped. She turned with a serious look on her face, "It's about time you became a jounin. It will happen before you know as soon as you start saying how boring your missions are and take everything seriously."

Astonished, Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. To be honest, he really did intend to stop at chunin, seeing the extra work he would have to put in as a jounin a bigger load on his shoulders, he was comfortable being a military analyst. But he could become so much more if he actually put his mind to it.

Giving him one last smile, Temari walked down the path on her long journey.

Shikamaru said his favorite word, "Troublesome," before turning to the guard station to see Kotetsu making kissy lips and Izumo giggling.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in exasperation. It was bad that it had to be the younger generation that speculated on his relationship with Temari, but now it had to be the older one as well!

* * *

A woman dashed passed Team Kakashi down the hallway, not even slowing down to apilogize for nearly knocking Naruto over.

"Watch it you! Be more careful!" Naruto shouted out agitated.

_"That was a Cipher Corps," _Kakashi thought, "_Must be something important to do between villages. The hawk that I saw flying overhead before we got here was definitely Suna's. I hope everything's alright."_

Team Kakashi made it to the Hokage's office without further incident. Tragically, that is where another incident was started.

"Whaaat?" Naruto yelled in disbelief, "A guard for gold bullion transport convoy?"

"Huh? You got a problem?" Tsunade resisted the urge to whack the blond jinchuuriki over the head, knowing where this conversation was going.

"That's totally a C-rank mission!" Naruto crossed his arms, "I'm not gonna stoop that low, I have standards!"

_"And I thought I told him not to complain," _Sakura thought, exasperated at her teammate's childish behavior.

_"Stupid kid, this is the best I could get for you since you are a genin and C-rank missions aren't usually handed out to rookies as required by law, you have no idea of how generous I am being towards you," _Tsunade was having thoughts as to whether she should give him a D-rank mission just to spite him.

Iruka sat alongside the Godaime Hokage and was taking notes on the teams being assigned to missions, and hearing his favorite student's outburst, shook his head in disappointment, "Naruto, you haven't really mature mentally, have you?"

"Naruto," Tsunade did her best to speak calmly, "I have assigned you this C-rank mission due to the fact you just got here and need to have a warm-up. . ."

"I didn't ask for this!" Naruto complained, "Even the Third would be more understanding. . . yipe!"

The knuckleheaded ninja found himself in a headlock by Sakura, who tried to act cheerful while giving Naruto a punishing noogie, "Please excuse him, Tsunade-shishou. I'll promise to scold him later,"

"_Baka! You have no idea how frightening Tsunade-shishou can truly be, so just shut the hell up. . .cha!" _Inner Sakura screamed.

"The details of the mission are written out on here," Tsunade ignored the two squabbling minors and pushed out in front of her desk a document.

"Right," Kakashi walked over to retrieve the document so that he could get out of this office before Naruto could shoot off his mouth on something he didn't want Tsunade to hear.

"And all this after I helped Kakashi-sensei with the unit lists for those new teams which he claimed where B-rank, I thought you wouldn't throw this at me baa-chan," Naruto grumbled.

The female Hokage's eyes widened, "What was that?"

Well, fuck.

"Err, nothing Hokage-sama," Kakashi said hurridly, "I'll just take these papers and. . ."

"Hold on there a second, Hatake," Tsunade growled, "You mean to tell me you didn't finish the unit lists I gave you last night and somehow you convinced Naruto that it was a mission?"

Amid Naruto's exclamation of disbelief on how he had been fooled by his sensei, Kakashi suddenly wished he could sink into the floor right now.

"Ah, well you see Hokage-sama, I was really into the Icha Icha Tactics and I couldn't really put the book down. . ." he trailed off nervously when he saw the deadly glint in Tsunade's eyes.

"And you think that qualifies as an excuse?" she grated out. By now Naruto and Sakura had quieted down and were watching in interest. Kakashi was shaking as he was stared down by the Godaime Hokage.

"You know what I said before I would do whenever I caught you slacking off?" Tsunade watched as Kakashi suddenly fell to his knees.

"No, Tsunade-sama! Please don't burn them!" Kakashi pleaded.

Both Naruto and Sakura had a good idea on what their sensei meant by, "them."

Suddenly the doors to the room burst open and the same lady who had ran into Naruto in the hallway barged in.

"There's trouble, Lady Hokage! It's from Sunagakure!" the woman gasped as she ran over to the desk and handed Tsunade the deciphered message.

Tsunade noted the urgency in the woman's voice and looked at the message sent from Suna to her. After reading the first few lines of the message, the Godaime Hokage's eyes widened in alarm.

_"What, how could this be?"_

Iruka leaned to get a look at the deciphered message, he too reacted in shock. Shizune gasped and covered her mouth.

"Hey. . . what happened?" Naruto said uneasily, not sure if he would like to know what was on the deciphered message.

Tsunade looked up to see the worried looks she was recieving. Clearing her throat,the words she spoke were like a bombshell, "Sabaku no Gaara of Sunagakure has been captured by Akatsuki."

The room was silent, so silent that you could hear a fly sneeze. For a moment nobody said anything, until Naruto whispered, "No. . . Gaara. . ."

The blond jinchuriki's mind flashed back to his first encounter with Akatsuki. It had been Itachi and Kisame whom he met while on the search for Tsunade. They towered over him, giving of an aura that had back then seized Naruto with fear.

He narrowed his eyes, "_The only two Akatsuki I know of are those guys. Kisame is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, while Itachi is Sasuke's older brother. . ."_

"It reads here that the Sand has requested our help in retrieving Gaara," Tsunade spoke, noting the perplexed looks of her subordinates around her, especially Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama, you can't be thinking of sending Team Kakashi. . .?" Shizune trailed off when she saw the look in her mentor's eyes.

"This is an emergency, we can't waste time selecting a team," Tsunade gazed at Kakashi, "And besides, we have someone who has fought with two of Akatsuki's elite members."

"I can understand that, but. . ." Shizune glanced at Naruto.

"I now have a new mission for Team Kakashi!" Tsunade announced to the whole room, "Go to Sunagakure immediately and assess the damage, and then report back. While there you shall follow orders given to you by our allies and provide backup. Dismissed!"

* * *

At the main gates of Konoha, Team Kakashi was preparing itself for their long journey to Suna, and last minute preparations were being taken care of. Shouldering his backpack in which he kept his team's camping supplies and containment scrolls, Naruto seemed a lot more serious than when he first entered Konoha.

Sakura noted the look on her blond teammate's face, _"Don't worry, Naruto. We'll get to Gaara on time." _She could understand Naruto's desire to rescue a fellow jinchuriki, but was also worried to what lengths he would go to save Gaara. Hell, she wasn't even sure on what Akatsuki was really planning with the Jinchuriki, which made her all the more anxious for Naruto's safety.

Tsunade and Iruka were also at the main gate to see them off, but there was one person still missing. . .

"Yo!" Kakashi appeared with his small green book in hand, "Sorry I fell behind, I. . ."

"-was lost on the long road of life?" asked Sakura skeptically.

"-or did you come across a black cat and had to take a different route?" Naruto querried.

Rubbing the back of his head, Kakashi chuckled sheepishly, "Heh, I guess I'm being a little too predictable, I might have to come up with some more original excuses."

"Don't go there," Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade, and Iruka all said simultaneously.

"Hey!" a new voice came up. It was Jiraiya who landed in the middle of the group, "I heard of the mission you were taking, are you sure this is wise, Tsunade?"

The Slug Princess nodded, "I had no other choice. The request was urgent, and Naruto's team was the only one open at the time. All other teams were either busy or unprepared for this type of mission. I made the best choice I could, with Kakashi having the greatest experience, Sakura is Konoha's best medic on the field, and Naruto has great relations with Suna."

"Oh, come on. . ." Jiraiya had no doubt that Tsunade could have thought things through and send an ANBU team, but then again Team Kakashi had ANBU-level shinobi, maybe even higher due to the fact that Naruto and Sakura bested their teacher.

"Naruto," Jiraiya walked up and placed his hands on his student's shoulders, "I want you to be cautious if you run into any of those Akatsuki goons. You may have gotten stronger, but you still are reckless and run headfirst into dangerous situations, and we both know that is your greatest weakness."

Noting how serious his mentor for the past two and a half years was, Naruto nodded with a solemn expression on his face.

"And one last thing," Jiraiya's voice still hadn't lost its serious edge, "You have to promise me you won't use any of your more lethal techniques and youki."

". . .I know," Naruto said quietly.

Satisfied, Jiraiya turned to Kakashi, "You know what to do, right Hatake?"

The Copy Cat ninja nodded, and turned to Naruto and Sakura, "Alright you two, all set?"

"Of course! Let's save Gaara!" Naruto was the first to take off, with Sakura and Kakashi right behind him.

* * *

**A/N: Yep, that's how this chapter ends, and all of you were thinking, "What, no fight scenes?" Sorry, but you have to wait until later chapters until we can get to some good action. And for those who may be worrying that I am staying too close to the canon storyline, don't worry. The fight against Akatsuki will take a bit of a different turn.**

**So for now be patient with me and enjoy the summer, and by then I'll have the next chapter out by next month, or maybe even earlier.**


	6. The Slug's Apprentice

**Well, I'm back, and I've brought you another chapter full of Narutotard awesomeness. If any of you were a little impatient, I apologize, but I procrastinated by playing Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast on the Mac, which was really a refreshing experience since I haven't played that game for quite some time, though the Stormtroopers could learn to aim. Also, going up to the Upper peninsula was a family tradition, with no wi-fi anywhere!**

**I dont own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Slug's Apprentice**

Sakura and Kakashi were having a rough time trying to catch up with Naruto, who was starting to distance himself from his team. Having heard of Gaara's capture and the small timetable they had, Naruto was insistent on heading towards Suna at full speed ahead.

It had been two and a half hours already and Naruto was showing no signs of slowing down.

_"Gaara, we're coming!" _Naruto thought savagely, _"I won't let you die!" _

From what Jiraiya had told him, Akatsuki usually wasted no time in extracting the bijuu from its jailer, and that the extraction resulted in the jinchuriki's death. Naruto was unsure of the exact time Gaara was kidnapped or how long he had, but he wouldn't slow down for anything to wait and find out.

"Naruto! I know you're in a hurry but don't disrupt the unit!" Sakura huffed right behind him.

"But. . ." Naruto protested.

"Remember what Jiraiya told you back at Konoha's gates?" Kakashi asked, "Don't lose your cool."

Naruto gritted his teeth, fighting to keep his impatience bottled up inside of him. It was bad that Gaara had been captured, but if Naruto went on ahead and rushed in without thinking, it would make things worse. If Gaara had any chance of being rescued, Team Kakashi would have to follow what Suna wanted them to do by the letter, meaning no reckless actions on Naruto's part, which the blond had trouble coping with.

"Hey," Sakura saw a lone figure walking a dirt path just to Team Kakashi's right, "It's Temari!"

* * *

Baki was silently cursing the gods when the medics rolled in with a stretcher with one of his former students on it. Heading over to the treatment room, the doctors were quick to diagnose Kankuro's condition.

"The wounds themselves aren't that serious," the head nurse explained to the anxious Sand jounin, "What concerns us is the lethal poison coursing through his system. We have done everything we can from here, but I'm afraid if he doesn't get proper treatment, he may die."

Those words stung Baki worse than when he first learned that the Fourth Kazekage was dead. He had made an oath to protect his lord's children with his life, to atone for believing in Orochimaru's "alliance", now he had lost Gaara and had to watch as Kankuro fought a losing battle.

"So the poison, it's new?" Baki asked the doctor anxiously.

Watching the vitals, the doctor in charge of the operation nodded his head, "Correct, we have no idea how to neutralize it."

The rest of the night was unbearable, but Baki insisted that he watch Kankuro's progress. The doctors attending to the puppeteer were Suna's finest, but even they were clearly outmatched by this uncategorized poison. Morning came surprisingly fast, and by then the medics had made some form of progress.

"So Kankuro has regained consciousness?" Baki tried to keep a tough demeanor towards the two doctors and single attendant in the treatment room, but was having difficulty maintaining it as he found it hard to ignore Kankuro's raspy breathing.

"He has, but he's just barely responding to us," one of the doctor's apologized.

"His condition has worsened since yesterday," another said grimly.

Baki bit his tongue and was rewarded when Kankuro squinted open his eyes. He tried to mouth out some words, but the only thing that could be heard was his heart monitor.

"Kankuro!" relief flooded Baki like the tidal waves on the Wind Country's southern shores, "Lay still, you need to rest!"

"It's. . .it's him. . ."

"Don't raise your voice, it isn't good in your condition!" Baki leaned forward, "Just whisper in my ear. Who did you see?"

For a moment, Kankuro had trouble getting out the words, but what Baki did catch was the word, "Red. . ."

"What?"

"Th-the Red Sand."

Startled, Baki stood straight up as if he had came in contact with a hot iron. No, surely not. Maybe Kankuro was mistaken; then again, he sounded convinced. Besides, there was currently no greater puppeteer in Suna who could be considered Kankuro's equal, except. . .

"I see. . . so this explains everything. . ." Baki whispered.

Noticing the sudden change in Baki's demeanor, one of the doctors asked if the jounin was alright. Baki didn't answer, but instead left the treatment room without another word.

Striding down the desert rock hallway's, Baki found the tactical room in which a pair of jounin were issuing orders to the tracking teams in search for Gaara.

"Cancel all orders of engaging the Akatsuki! Tell the tracking units to turn back to the village immediately!"

Confused, the two jounin looked at Baki quizzingly, expecting that the stress of being selected to participate in the Suna Council had finally drove him up the wall.

"That's an order! We are dealing with an S-class threat and can't sacrifice lives," Baki roared.

"Actually, Baki-sama, one of the tracking teams hasn't reported in yet," a jounin said nervously.

Grounding his teeth in frustration, Baki could imagine what fate had befallen those unfortunate enough to encounter _him._

"Then you have your reason of withdrawing the remaining tracking teams," Baki barked, "Get to it!"

As the jounin began issuing hasty orders to recall the already stretched-out tracking teams, Baki fumed. It seemed that Akatsuki had all the cards now, but if those two old crones were willing to help, Gaara might yet be saved. . .

* * *

In their prime, Chiyo and Ebizou had been the forerunners of the early Sunagakure, a bastion of power in the worild that came to be regarded as the most powerful of the ninja villages. Led by the Sandaime Kazekage, the village had entered a golden age after the Second Great Ninja War, gaining more from its conquest than its competitors. Until then, the ninja of Sunagakure were proud and fierce warriors, able to complete any mission flawlessly and without any casualties.

But then, things started to fall apart. The Sandaime Kazekage went missing, the disasterous Third Great Ninja War, the inauguration of Sabaku no Seito as Yondaime Kazekage, then finally the failed experiment with Gaara destroyed and tarnished Sunagakure's image. Then came along Akasuna no Sasori's defection which seemed to signal the downfall of Sunagakure as on of the great ninja villages.

Out of disgust, the two Honoured Siblings had cut ties with the village they once loved and chose to isolate themselves, watching as Sunagakure continued to grow weak and feeble, having joining up with that scoundrel Orochimaru and then begging for peace after their failed invasion of Konohagakure seemed to have emboldened their stance on isolationism.

Now the two retired ninja spent their lives inside a fortress high in the mountains surrounding Sunagakure, sitting at the center of the large dome-shaped room at an edge of a circular pond. Chiyo would usually take out a bamboo rod and waited patiently for the fish to bite, while Ebizou would sit on the other side of the pond watching her fish for their dinner.

"Someone is coming to visit us," Ebizou broke the silence.

Looking over at Chiyo, who still hadn't moved a single muscle, Ebizou ventured a question, "Hey, Big Sister. . ."

When Chiyo didn't answer, her brother couldn't help but grow agitated, "I said hey, Big Sister!"

Yet she didn't respond, which began to worry Ebizou. Had she finally. . .

"Are you dead?" Still no response, "Because, if this is another of your little jokes. . ."

The bamboo rod started to slide from her grasp, and fell into the water. Ebizou's heart stopped.

All of a sudden, Chiyo's arm moved like lightning and snatched the pole before it could hit the water. Looking up in astonishment, Ebizou saw that his sister was giving him another of her cheeky grins.

"Gotcha, I was playing dead!" then she went into her usual hysterical laughter.

Ebizou smiled in relief, "Cut that out, Big Sister. That senility act is way too real."

Just then they heard a pair of footsteps intrude upon them, forcing the two Honoured Siblings to act as still as statues. Where she had been laughing moments before, Chiyo now was silent and acted aloof to whoever had come to visit them.

Only Ebizou was the one to greet their new guest, "Ah, Baki isn't it? Strange how one man who led the forces of Suna in a failed invasion on Konohagakure could still retain his rank and dignity."

Ignoring the insult, Baki cleared his throat, "Honourable Siblings, we are in dire need of your assistance."

"You come seeking help from old-timer's like us?" Chiyo snorted as she kept her eyes on the fishing line, waiting for a tug, "As I recall, you didn't waste a second chance in forging an alliance with Orochimaru and ignoring our warnings of doing so."

Fighting down the shame in knowing the truth in their words, Baki persisted, "An organization called Akatsuki has taken Gaara-sama as hostage and we have so far been unable to track the kidnappers down," he hoped that using the Sand Sibling's name would get Chiyo to react, which was unsuccessful.

"This is your generation, you deal with it," Ebizou grumbled, he seemingly did not care for Gaara's fate as well.

Disheartened at their aloof nature, Baki decided he would plead one more time before he brought out his ace in the hole, "But this situation has gone out of hand. With your years of experience and contacts that aren't even aligned with the Land of Wind, we may have a chance to save Gaara-sama."

"So you can continue to use the Ichibi?" Chiyo turned to look at Baki with a fierce look on her wrinkled face, "I'm sorry, but we do not wish to give a helping hand to such a weak village," her expression then softened, "The only attachment that I have left with that village is my grandson, and I do wish I could see him one last time."

Baki knew he had them, "Then that is convenient for the both of us, because your grandson is back and he is a part of Akatsuki."

* * *

By the time Team Kakashi and Temari had reached the gates of Sunagakure, they were covered with the desert sands which stuck to them due to the sweat off their bodies.

Having traveled far more faster due to Naruto and Temari's insistence on reaching Sunagakure as soon as possible, the weary team had finally reached the edge of the Wind Country's vast desert only to be hit by a sandstorm. Taking charge of the mission, Temari led Team Kakashi into a small cave at the foot of the great mountain which circled and protected Sunagakure.

Explaining to them of the ironclad rule of finding shelter during a sandstorm, Temari listed two of the dangers associated with it: losing your sense of direction, and the Sand wraiths that would prowl about under the cover of the desert winds; thankfully storms during the season of spring were short and they could continue on their way once it subsided.

"So tell me again: what are Sand wraiths?" Naruto had asked Temari.

"They are demons that bury themselves in the sand and await unsuspecting travelers to tread upon them, but we've managed to get rid a lot of them. Now they only come out during sandstorms, in hopes of finding an unlucky merchant or ninja, which is a rare event."

When the sandstorm finally died down, Team Kakashi plus Temari wasted no time sprinting across the dunes and meeting two guards at the entrance to Sunagakure.

They led them to the hospital, informing them of Kankuro's critical condition. Thankfully, with Sakura trained in the medical arts by the Legendary Sucker, Kankuro had a sliver of a chance to make it through.

Running up flights of stairs, Naruto and co. burst through the doors to the treatment room. Naruto had expected to see doctors hovering over Kankuro's motionless body, a bunch of tubes and wires and hospital gear, and Baki close by as he was the patient's sensei. What he didn't expect to see was an old lady flying at him with a furious snarl on her face.

"Hatake Sakumo! It is your death that I seek!" the old lady screeched, her fist aiming for Kakashi's head. Naruto reacted quickly and blocked her punch with his left hand while giving the attacker a palm strike to the chest; she skidded back, showing no signs of being winded but took a fighting stance unique to Sunagakure's special forces.

"What's your big deal trying to attack Kakashi-sensei just now?" Naruto yelled, "What did he do to deserve such a welcome?"

She ignored Naruto and stared at Kakashi with a fierce glint in her eyes, "I'll never forgive what you did back then, White Fang of the Leaf! My son and daughter shall be avenged!"

"Er. . . no, you got me confused with somebody else . . . I'm. . ." Kakashi sputtered out, hoping to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand and became an international incident. Luckily Ebizou stepped in and put out an arm in front of Chiyo to stop another of her reckless attacks.

"Big Sister, why don't you take a better look at him. That's definitely not the White Fang!"

Chiyo heeded her brother's advice and squinted, eyeing the one-eyed Konoha jounin with distrust until her posture sank and she seemed mournful, "Oh, that's right. I remember hearing that the White Fang died a long time ago, another legend that bit the dust."

Naruto started to relax, seeing that his sensei was in no immediate danger. Chiyo continued on in her dialogue, oblivious to the stares she was getting, "I cried not because of his death, but the fact that I would be unable to avenge my son."

The room was silent, until Chiyo broke out in a grin, "Gotcha, I only pretended to have gone senile."

Everyone in the room deadpanned, while Kakashi shivered, _"Is she being serious or just trying to save face?"_

Kankuro then started to spasm, his body was failing to keep the poison from finishing it off. In the little debacle that followed, almost everyone in the room had forgotten about the patient, except Sakura and Temari.

"Quick, let me have a look at him!" Sakura said qucikly as she tied her hair into a quick ponytail.

"Please do," Temari watched anxiously as the medic from Konoha got to work.

"Kakashi-sensei and the rest of you, please stand back a bit," Sakura ordered.

"Got it," Naruto replied as Kakashi headed out the doorway with him following close behind. Ebizou and Chiyo soon followed, but at the last minute Chiyo turned to stare at Sakura who was standing over Kankuro.

"_Don't tell me, is that who I think it is?"_

Shaking her head and mumbling to herself, Chiyo left the room leaving only a handful of doctors, Baki, Kankuro, Temari and the best medic Konoha has to offer.

* * *

The wait was excruciating. It had already been two hours since they had left the room and already Naruto was feeling the urge to barge in and see if Kankuro's condition had gotten any better. From what they could hear, the cause to Kankuro's illness was a heavy metal-based toxin that acted upon the muscles to destroy the cells. If it could destroy the cardiac muscle, the heart would stop beating at any moment unless their was an antidote.

A few exchanges between Sakura and the Suna medics meant that such an antidote could not be made with the few ingredients missing, thus a more crude potion was required, being the only option left to save Kankuro.

Now in the present, they had everything needed to make the crude concoction. The cure resembled a thick, yellowish-clear paste inside the pail; it was slick and oily yet flowed freely like water. Instructing the medics to hold down Kankuro, Sakura used her chakra to guide a large bubble of the cure and pressed it into Kankuro's chest.

The immediate reaction was a fit of struggling, forcing the medics to apply more pressure in keeping Kankuro down. Having the doorway open to them which allowed for Naruto and Kakashi as well as the Honourable Siblings to observe Kankuro's progress, Naruto nearly jumped when he saw Kankuro trying to break free from the operating table.

After a few strenuous minutes, Sakura extracted the liquid from Kankuro's chest via the pores on the body, and with it the toxin. She then held up the glob of the cure which contained a purple glob of toxin for all to see, then with a sudden flick of her wrist Sakura let the glob slide into the pot with not a single spill.

"Next!" she called out. The two Suna medics obeyed, one wiping her face with a clean towel while the other replaced the pot with the extracted toxin with another one amd a fresh batch of the cure.

As Naruto watched her repeat the cycle again, he turned to Kakashi, "Say, sensei?"

"Huh?"

"What sort of person was this White Fang the old lady over there was talking about?"

Chiyo cocked her head to the side and gave Naruto a scrutinizing eye at having being called, 'old lady.'

"Well, that's hard to say. . ." Kakashi spoke, ". . . since he was my father."

A small wave of killer intent flared from Chiyo, then disappeared as quick as it came to existence, "Then. . . you're the son of the White Fang!"

"Yeah. . . well," Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"So that's why you look a lot like him," Ebizou said, both of his gray eyebrows raised.

The next few moments were even more intense, as Kankuro had the toxin affecting all of his organs, in which Sakura went slowly yet methodically extracting the harmful substance from the squirming Puppet Master.

Another hour passed before Sakura stood up, and wiped the sweat off her brow, "I directly extracted the toxin," Sakura announced, "With this, his life should no longer be in danger."

"Way to go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto came in the room with Kakashi to congratulate Konoha's finest medic.

Baki and Temari both breathed a sigh of relief, while Chiyo stood at the doorway dumbfounded.

"But we can't rest easy," Sakura cautioned everyone in the room, "I'll need to concoct a proper antidote for the traces of toxin in his body."

"Got it," Baki replied, already taking charge, "If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

As Naruto watched Sakura give out instuctions such as ordering a list of herbs, new bandages to replace the old ones, and to set aside a small amount of extracted toxin for study, he felt something fluttering in his chest, "Sakura-chan. . . you're so cool."

"You're just like the Slug girl," Chiyo spoke up, "To think that she would dare send one of her students over to Sunagakure just to spite me."

Naruto and Sakura both stared at the old woman in confusion, until Naruto decided to speak up, "So, you also got a beef with Tsunade-baachan?"

Chiyo looked at Naruto, "You call her, Tsunade-baachan? The one who has been a constant thorn in my side since the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, countering every poison I came up with and putting a renowned genius like me to shame?" She snorted in amusement, "And yet she lets young punks like your refer to her in a derogatory manner? She's gotta be losing her touch. . ."

Naruto raised his hands and put them behind his head in a relaxed position, "Nah, it's not because I respect her, she's the best medic around. The only problem with her is that she likes to hide her age with that jutsu of hers," he studied Chiyo intently, "And from what you say, the she has to have a huge, wrinkly body under that lie of a jutsu."

* * *

Back at Konoha, Tsunade sneezed. Shizune looked at her mentor in concern, "Bless you, Tsunade-sama."

Rubbing her nose, the Slug sennin had a strange feeling that she wanted to strangle Naruto when he got back.

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded, "Don't talk about Tsunade-shishou like that in front of the present company!"

"Nah, it's okay," Chiyo said dismissivly, "I never really liked that old Slug girl anyway."

* * *

"Let me get you some cold medicine, Tsunade-sama. I hear a cold has been circulating in the village for some time now," Shizune stood up to leave as Tsunade sneezed yet again.

* * *

By now Kankuro had awakened, though he showed signs of being in a feverish state. Sakura had excused herself to gather more herbs so she could make antidotes for the lethal toxin that she had extracted. Despite their insistence on getting his rest, Kankuro sat up and recounted his tale in encountering Akatsuki.

"In Crow's hand," he motioned to one of his puppets arms lying on a table at the far end of the room, "Is a scrap of Sasori-sama's clothing. You can use it to track them down and rescue Gaara. . ."

He flinched as he moved on of his arms, "And you, Naruto. Can you please protect Gaara, as you have done before?"

"Sure! I'll bring him back and kick Akatsuki's ass!" Naruto promised.

"But first, we need to sleep. We have a harsh trek for tommorow," Kakashi said sternly, "I will use my ninja dogs to track down Akatsuki, so we can get the drop on them before they become wise to our plans."

Kankuro grimaced as he closed his hand, feeling the pain shoot up through it. He had failed to save Gaara, but Team Kakashi might have a chance.

_"I just have to work hard and carve out a future for myself, and to not dwell on the past," _he remembered those words Gaara had told him and looked up at Naruto, _". . .and someday, somehow. . . I can be like him. . ."_

Gaara had come a long ways away from being a serial killer to being someone who was compassionate and willing to die for his village.

_"But now there's something I understand about the bonds he went so far to tell me about. I understand that pain, sadness and happiness can be shared with others."_

Kankuro looked up to see Naruto helping Sakura with her backpack, _"Uzumaki Naruto. I learned that by fighting and getting to know him. He knew of the same pain as me, yet he taught me that I could change the path of my life."_

* * *

Yura sat in his office, brooding over what had transpired. It had been two days since Gaara had been kidnapped, and by next morning it would already be the third day, which by then the Tailed Beast would aleady be in Akatsuki's possession. Yet the relief team sent by Konoha with another one soon to follow would be forcing his benefactors to work at a much faster pace, and there was a slight chance that those Konoha ninja could disrupt the sealing of the Tailed Beast into the great statue.

Drumming his fingers on the desk, Yuura decided he would make an appearance before the Konoha team, to assess the threat that they posed, and then have to do something to keep his own ninja forces preoccupied. Only then could Akatsuki make a clean getaway.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, ever wonder why a bunch of Suna's own ninja forces didn't follow Naruto and co. to lend a hand? I'll come up with a better explanation in the next chapter than Kishi ever could in the manga ( I hope).**

**Meanwhile, another omake is next, so post your questions and I'll answer them!**


	7. Akatsuki's lair discovered!

**Here is yet another chapter! Sorry about what I said earlier, but there won't be any omakes.**

**And as for anon, the reason why Baki called the tracker team back was because of the danger Sasori and Deidara posed, this happened in the anime as well; even if he tried to send an entire army, they would be wiped out because Sasori is a legend and has even defeated the Third Kazekage and taken out entire countries with his puppet army.**

**Now you may ask, what will Naruto and co. come up against? Read on and find out.**

**Today's sponsor is the Konoha Ninja Weapon Research Lab, making you products such as the Double-bladed Kunai, the Thousand-bladed Shuriken, and the Coffee Pot.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Akatsuki's lair discovered! Hang on, Gaara!**

Baki sat in front of Yura, who looked over the request that Chiyo had written out for him on a parchment. The tense air in the office made Baki uncomfortable, but he could imagine the Kazekage's discomfort.

"You know, I always wondered when Chiyo would come out of retirement to partake in an S-class mission once again," Yura mumbled softly, "Yet I can't help but feel worried on her mental stability."

"She claimed this was fated, that she had to see her grandson one last time," Baki explained.

After Kankuro's near-death experience, Kakashi had sent some of his nin dogs to track down the scent of Sasori's cloak. After six hours of searching, one of the nin dogs named Pakkun stumbled across what appeared to be a boulder over the mouth of a cave, deep in the great marshes of the River Country. At first it was suggested that Suna send a large force of its black ops to try to take out Akatsuki on their home turf, but Yura shot that down immediately.

"Do you honestly believe that the River Daimyo would allow a contingent of our forces in his country? To him it would be an invasion! Our relationship with the border country is still sour, it would look suspicious to him; what we need to do is send some of our best ninja out with the aid of Konoha's own ninja squad and get permission to cross into the River country. We need to do this quickly and efficiently, because time is not on our side!"

Seeing wisdom in the Kazekage's words, Baki chose five of some of Suna's most promising ninja, Sabaku no Temari, Mio Matsuri, Kawayoi Akane, Takahara Anizawa and Mitobe Tetsuya to accompany Team Kakashi on their daring rescue mission. Now the question was, what to do with Chiyo?

"In her defense, she is retired, so technically she can do anything she wants," Baki watched carefully as Yura grew irate.

"That does not give her the power over the Kazekage's decisions!" he snapped. Rubbing his brow fervently and mutering under his breath, Yura stood up to stare out at the village.

"Besides, it's not her disobedience to me I'm worried about. She holds a grudge against Konoha's White Fang, and could place it on his son. Then there is Sasori himself; wouldn't she jeopardize the mission in trying to get to 'meet' her grandson?"

Baki sighed. It was true that he held doubts on how Chiyo would contain herself if she made contact with Sasori, but the psychiatrist who visited the Honourable Siblings once a month claimed that Chiyo was healthy, even Ebizou vouched for that.

"You know I just can't trust the word of two men, I need to know for myself," Yura sat back down, "We can't be too sure. This isn't Orochimaru or some other self-proclaimed warlord, this is Akatsuki we're talking about."

"Still, we have five of our top ninja going along with her and Team Kakashi, and as a plus an additional team from Konoha is being sent as backup," Baki brought up the picture of the River Country in his mind, "The two groups will probably catch Akatsuki in a pincer move, and as soon as we get in contact with the River Daimyo we could have him help us in retrieving Gaara."

Yura still looked unsure, "But with Sasori and other potential S-class criminals backing him up, will our forces be walking into a slaughter?"

"Not with Chiyo and Kakashi around. If things go as planned, they grab Gaara and get out. Just pray to Kami for their safety and success."

* * *

Naruto was watching over his shoulder at the old lady behind him and Sakura. It had been already two hours and she had remained silent, letting the other Suna ninja doing the talking. He had begun to worry for Kakashi as soon as the old hag announced she would be joining them in rescuing Gaara; at first he refused, but he could do nothing when Temari and her group supported the idea of an experienced war veteran helping them out.

Since they had set out, Chiyo had shown no signs of wanting to attack Kakashi again, but from time to time she stared at him and then suprisingly at Naruto himself, as if trying to put pieces of a puzzle together. Then on occasion the old lady would glance at Sakura, and from what Naruto could understand was that Chiyo and Tsunade were bitter rivals during the wars, so it was obvious that the retired veteran in warfare and poisons would be shocked at being outclassed in her field by some teenager who had apprenticed under her rival for only two and a half years.

Speaking of Sakura, it looked like she had something to say to him.

"Naruto! Can I ask you something?" she said, "Since when have you been targeted by Akatsuki?"

The blond wanted to hit something. Why didn't Tsunade-baachan fill in Sakura on every detail they had on Akatsuki? It was as if she was holding back information on her very own apprentice for whatever reason he couldn't quite fathom.

As for being targeted, the secret organization made its presence known back when Naruto and Jiraiya had been searching for Tsunade in the hotel they had been staying at. It was there he met Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, two mass murderers who were hunting him down; he remembered being truly powerless compared to those two S-class ninja, and could only stand and watch as Sasuke was tortured and Jiraiya had to save the day.

But as for how long they have been hunting him. . .

"I don't know," Naruto put on an extra burst of speed and was now ahead of the group.

"There was that one time when two of Akatsuki's agents infiltrated Konoha in order to make contact with Naruto," Kakashi spoke up to fill in for the blond jinchuuriki, "But that was two and a half years ago, and they've just started making a move now."

"Why did they wait for nearly three years?" Sakura prodded.

"Clearly they didn't wait by choice, but because Jiraiya was with Naruto a that whole time," Kakashi shrugged, "That's the closest thing we have for an answer."

No. . ." Chiyo spoke up for the first time since their travel, "My sources seem to tell a different story. There's quite a bit of preparation involved if one is to draw out a Tailed beast from its host. Many madmen have sought the power of the Jinchuuriki for their own ambitions, yet are unable to fully comprehend much less control the power of the great demons themselves."

"So, these Tailed Beasts. . . are demons?" Sakura asked uncertainly.

Chiyo looked up and scoffed, "What, you are the apprentice to that Slug lady and she hasn't told you that? Disgraceful," the Honorable Sibling, "All Jinchuuriki have the misfortune of carrying a demon of immense power, which is why they are considered dangerous weapons that could go off at any moment if they are unable to control what is inside of them."

Naruto's arms stiffened, as well as Temari's own. She and her squad were behind the others but could hear every word being said.

"I heard that Konohagakure had the almighty Nine-tails, did it not? I wonder what they did with it, since my sources haven't picked up anything on that particular Jinchuuriki's whereabouts," Chiyo eyed Kakashi who looked back at her.

"And why do you seem so curious?" Kakashi picked his words carefully.

"Oh, it's because the Nine-tails is partly responsible for the Great Tragedy, and I couldn't imagine how it might be twisting its jailer into another homicidal maniac, just like all other jinchuuriki."

Kakashi stared at the old lady in surprise, "You. . ."

"Know a lot about that demon? Yes, after picking through the scrolls of ancient knowledge I do have quite an idea of how powerful and deceitful each demon can be, especially kitsunes," Chiyo smirked, "Bet you weren't taught much on the ancient times where you?"

When she recieved no answer, Chiyo chuckled bitterly, "I suppose not. Ancient knowledge these days is seen as outdated and of no use to anyone, and thus gathers dust in some library or ruin, a lot like me," the old lady laughed at her own joke.

Sakura had been so absorbed into Chiyo's dialogue that she failed to notice Naruto whose fists had been clenched the whole time. Kakashi however could sense his student's discomfort.

_"Naruto isn't like anything you described, but I hope Sakura doesn't buy into any of that. In all my time watching him as a child, Naruto has never shown any signs of deviant behavior common in orphans who face neglect and abuse."_

Putting a boost into his speed, Kakashi caught up to Naruto who had relaxed just a little.

"Hey, Naruto, about what Chiyo said back there. . ."

"It's nothing, Kakashi-sensei. . ."

Staring at his student, Kakashi narrowed his one eye, "You know that it's not. . ."

Kakashi halted at midsentence, and looked backwards to see the others in the group were suddenly alert. He looked to his right and revealed his Sharingan and was just in time to see a hail of kunai flying towards him and his team.

"Scatter!" he yelled just as the explosive tags around the kunai handles started to detonate. The area around them rocked with the sudden explosions, and suddenly they were surrounded by Tani ninja. Naruto barely dodged a jet of water that one of the attacking ninja shot from his mouth, grazing his side and leaving a cut in his jumpsuit, but he had been one of the fortunate ones. A piece of shrapnel from the previous explosion had lodged itself into Anizawa's arm, forcing the Suna jounin to apply pressure to it to stop the bleeding, while Matsuri was clutching her chest.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto kicked out and caught one of the Tani ninja in the stomach, sending him flying back towards his group. Another came upon him with a giant sword aiming to decapitate the blond jinchuuriki's head off, but Sakura was there to catch the blade with one hand, pull it from the sword ninja's grasp, and with her other hand swatted that ninja aside. She then used the sword to bat away some shuriken thrown at her and did a one-handed seal.

Kakashi looked on in surprise to see the small gaggle of Tani ninja Sakura had targeted had went from combat ready to being disoriented and confused, _"Ah, so she learned more than taijutsu. . ."_

Blocking a kick to his face, Kakashi returned to fighting and threw the Tani ninja to the ground and pinned him with his foot, "Alright, what is going on? Why are you attacking us?"

Sruggling against the foot on his throat, the Tani ninja spat at Kakashi, "Why else would we attack? To defend our home from you!"

* * *

The visage of the Akatsuki leader shifted slightly as looked up from the ritual he was performing. So far the Shukaku's extraction had been going smoothly, but too slow for his liking. By now the teams sent from Sunagakure and Konohagakure would be within the Land of River's border by now and converging on their location. Even if he was more than a match for any of those insects, the Akatsuki Leader knew that the sealing process would not fair well if interrupted, which was why he had set up few obstacles to hinder the progress of the rescuers.

He lifted his gaze from the unconscious Gaara, his eyes stared straight ahead at the cave's sealed entrance. He waited until Zetsu spoke, the dark-half of the plant man did the talking, "The Konoha Ninja and Suna Ninja coming from the west have entered into combat with Tani Ninja on border patrol. Meanwhile, a team of Konoha Ninja coming directly from the Land of Fire have already crossed the border and have so far been unopposed."

"Have you been able to identify them," the Leader's voice carried no emotion in it.

"It is led by. . . Maito Guy."

The Leader nodded, "Just as I have predicted."

"Ah, it's that clown?" Kisame spoke up, "He and I fought briefly when me and Itachi first infiltrated Konoha."

"He solely specializes in using taijutsu," the infamous murderer of his family spoke up, "He's a clever operator, not to be underestimated."

"That freak doesn't seem so smart to me," Kisame sneered, "But whatever you say Itachi."

"Well, then he is the one you will be dealing with," the Leader then turned his gaze toward the smallest figure present, "As for you, accompany Kisame to intercept this Maito Guy and his team."

"What?" a very indignant voice reverberated in the dome-shaped cave the sealing was taking place in, "You're sending that little brat?"

"She is integral in this mission she will be doing with Kisame," the Leader spoke calmly, "What she can do will upset the fragile peace between the nations."

* * *

Pakkun started to sniff the air as soon as a new scent reached his nostrils. He had been leading Team Guy straight to the general location of Akatsuki's hideout, and so far no one had stood in their way. Hell, they hadn't met a single person since Team Guy had first crossed the border.

"What is it?" Guy sounded concerned, due to the fact that now that they were in a foreign country, it pays to be alert for an ambush.

"Someone is following us," Pakkun panted, "But I can't tell where."

All the members of Team Guy tensed, ready for an enemy to leap out of nowhere and begin combat.

Still running, Neji activated his Byakugan. After a few seconds, he alerted his team, "Behind us! Coming in fast!"

Racing towards them from the back was what looked like a fin from the ground. . . a shark fin.

Coming to a complete stop, Team Gai turned and faced their foe. What they didn't expect was the fin to vanish. His Byakugan activated, Neji pointed his team to the mound that was in front of them.

A figure emerged from the ground, and after the dust settled, revealed itself to be Hoshigaki Kisame.

"You. . ." Gai stared at the imposing figure of the renegade Mist Swordsman, "Who are you?"

Kisame resisted the urge to go over and bash Guy over the head with Samehada, "What? Don't tell me you forgot who I am already, stupid beast!"

"Didn't Itachi say he was a smart operator?" a small girl appeared to Kisame's left, smirking at the shocked Konoha ninja, "Then how come he doesn't recognize you? More like a dummy to me."

"Hey, you take that back about Guy-sensei!" Lee defended his idol.

Neji meanwhile was staring hard at the little girl. She wore the same cloak as Akatsuki, her face was dabbed with makeup, and her hair was in a wareshinobu style, but what disturbed him the most was the fact that she had just appeared out of nowhere. Even the Byakugan, which had a 360 degree vision and could see for miles hadn't detected her.

"These two. . . have a ridiculous amount of chakra," Neji analyzed the two opponents standing in their way, "I've never seen anyone besides Naruto with such a large amount of chakra."

"Are you really saying you don't remember me?" Kisame looked insulted, "Because if you did, then I wonder how you manage to get dressed every morning, not that it can't be so hard to slip into that eyesore of an outfit you are wearing."

Guy stared intently at Kisame before his large caterpillar eyebrows rose in shock, "Don't tell me your . . ."

"Ah, so now you remember," Kisame laughed, "It looks like your intelligence really is lacking, so I'll put you down like the dumb beast you are."

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's a wrap! And before you ask, Gai really does not recognize him in canon, which is somewhat really scary that a grown man can't recognize a blue-skinned shark man and yet was given the responsibility of training his own genin team.**

**So, surprised I added a new addition to Akatsuki? Wanna know who she is and how powerful is this little girl really is? And how come Naruto and co. were attacked by Hidden Valley ninja, and why were they accused of invading the country? All this will be answered in the next chapter!**


	8. Deceived

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but if I did, I would have a strict "no pointless fillers" policy for the anime show.**

**I know its been a long time since I've been at this, but lately I've begun to understand that the further you get into college, the less free time you have. But I've managed to squeeze some free time in and work on this chapter and play a bit of Duke Nukem Forever, the long-awaited game that got mixed reviews. The only reason I like the game so much is that you get to interact with the whiteboard's and such, including signing in the little kids book, "Kill your dad."**

**Then came along Gears of War 3! It blasted my socks off and I never knew how fun it was until I reached Horde! Beast was okay, but 12 levels wasn't enough for me, and the only drawback with Horde get's too damn difficult past Wave 20, I mean come on, how can you beat it on Insane through waves 41 - 50 without any Mutator's to help you?**

**So, after this chapter, I'll promise to make amends and have the chapters up sooner if I can manage. So in the meantime look forward to faster updates.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Deceived**

"Invaders?" Kakashi was confused, "But we passed by a checkpoint on the border, you should have known we were here on a mission-related business," the masked jounin wisely kept out the part with Gaara being a hostage, not wanting to create any more problems. The last thing Sunagakure needed was word getting out that it could not protect its own jinchuuriki.

The Tani ninja who was the senior of his group, glared a Kakashi with clear distrust, "Rubbish. Our border guard stations reported no Konoha or Suna ninja checking in, so either you thought yourself's too important to take heed of our sovereign territory, or you are precursors to a joint invasion. But who are you fighting against this time? Certainly not us, because usually its Konohagakure and Sunagakure who use the Land of Rivers as a battleground."

"Exactly," Kakashi nodded, "We are here on a joint mission to rescue a hostage."

Still suspicious, the Tani ninja eyed Kakashi, "So you're the Copy Cat ninja. Can I take your word that you truly did come across one of our checkpoints despite the evidence that **ALL **of our checkpoints have reported no Leaf or Sand ninja crossing the border?"

"Yes, we did go through one of your checkpoints. And we sent a telegraph to let you know of our arrival."

The senior turned to one of the other Tani ninja in the back, "Hiro, is he lying?"

A smaller kid in the back had been staring intently at Kakashi ever since he had entered into dialogue with the senior Tani ninja.

"He is telling the truth, Master Kiyoshu," the boy spoke, causing one of the other Tani ninja behind him to snort, "Do you doubt me, Takuya?"

"Maybe you didn't hear the first time, but all our border guards reported no Konoha or Suna ninja, so it's obvious you've started to lose your touch," the older, brash ninja snapped, "Plus we never received any hawk. And furthermore, that is Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Cat Ninja; probably used the Sharingan to scramble your brains."

Kiyoshu's eyes hardened as he looked at Kakashi, "Yeah, I remember seeing you on the Bingo Book."

Kakashi silently cursed. Of all the times for his fame to backfire on him. . .

"Hold on a second," Sakura interceded on her teacher's behalf, "Kakashi-sensei has not even used his Sharingan yet; he keeps it covered up when not in use."

Hiro nodded, "She is correct, his chakra flow hasn't changed, so he hasn't used a genjutsu."

Takuya looked as if he wanted to argue some more, but a glare from Kiyoshu silenced him.

Looking over the three Konoha ninja and the half-dozen Suna ninja, Kiyoshu shook his head, "Well, you don't look like invaders. Maybe it was a miscommunication between outposts?"

Behind him, one of the Tani ninja swatted at a gnat that went for his neck.

"But we did send you a telegraph," one of the Suna jounin, Anizawa, pointed out, "Unless you think that might have misplaced . . ."

Ignoring Takuya's scoff, Kakashi knew that things had definitely taken a turn for the worse. The next thing that would happen is that the entire team would be taken in for further questioning, which would in turn would let Akatsuki getting away with capturing Gaara. Even worse, if Naruto caught on to what the Tani ninja were taking them, he would fight back and get the Konoha-Suna group into even more trouble.

He looked over his shoulder to see that Naruto hadn't made any move to defend Kakashi, but he seemed to be glaring at the Tani ninja, most likely upset that they were holding him and his friends back from rescuing Gaara. Not only was Naruto anxious but the Suna ninja with them were probably feeling the same anxiety as well. Matsuri looked as if she was about to leap past the Tani ninja and try to save Gaara all by herself.

_"We need everyone on this mission, especially when dealing with S-class criminals," _his mind raced, _"And we can't waste our time here, otherwise Gaara is done for."_

"Anyway, we need to verify your story, so you're gonna have to come in for further questioning," Kiyoshu kept his voice calm, as he avoided the outraged looks on the Suna ninjas.

"But didn't you hear us?" Matsuri said in anger and disbelief, "We told you we have a hostage situation. If we are taken in for your 'questioning,' then the person who is depending on our rescue is dead."

"Not our problem," Takuya said indifferently, "Maybe if you checked in with our guys at the checkpoint you wouldn't be in this situation. And no, we didn't recieve a telegraph."

"But this is Akatsuki we're talking about!" Naruto finally spoke up, "We can't let them get. . ." he caught himself just in time before he uttered Gaara's name. Apparently the blond knucklehead had been taught to keep his mouth shut instead of speaking his mind, which got him into even more trouble.

Chiyo shook her head and mumbled something, but it was inaudible.

Takuya leered, "What was that? You have something to add?"

Naruto looked as if he was about to jump in, but Chiyo spoke neutrally, "That is no way to speak to your betters."

The cocky Tani ninja was about to retort, but suddenly he gave a little squeak as his eyes became unfocused, and after a few seconds started to sweat. Suddenly all the other Tani ninja around the group displayed the same symptoms.

Chiyo looked with disdain at the incapacitated Tani ninja, "I've injected you with a tetrodoxin, so there will be no need for holding us up."

Naruto watched in shock as Takuya and the others fell to the ground, there bodies were stiff.

Kakashi looked at the old poison's mistress, "Will they live?"

"Of course, but why would you care?" the old lady snorted and sprinted in the direction Pakkun pointed out the Akatsuki base.

Naruto grimaced and looked down at the incapacitated Tani ninja. They may have been in the way, but was it right to leave them in such a condition and out in the open? Sakura seemed to have read Naruto's thoughts and leapt down to see to the fallen ninja.

Giving each of the Tani ninja a quick examination, Sakura nodded and looked up at Naruto, "Come and help me move them into the shade."

"But what about Gaara?" Matsuri looked anxious to be following Chiyo who now had a head start.

"That doesn't mean we leave these guys out like this," Naruto protested as he placed Hiro's arm around his shoulder and carried the unconscious ninja to the nearby tree. So much for entering the Land of Rivers peacefully; even if every fiber in his body was screaming him to ditch these guys and go after Akatsuki, Naruto still had a moral duty to treat these ninja with the dignity and respect they deserve, unlike what Chiyo showed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Guy was getting nowhere with Kisame. The former Mist ninja proved his mantle when he successfully caught all three of Gai's student's in seperate water prison's in just under ninety seconds; Guy then not only had to fight an opponent several leagues ahead of him, but had a hostage situation on his hands now.

Pakkun had taken refuge behind one of the may boulders that dotted the landscape, now with water lapping at its base. Even if he was an Attack Nin-dog instead of just a tracker, he would only get in the way. Kisame wasn't here to fool around, and neither was the little girl standing off to the side.

Kisame gave Guy his signature shark smile, "The worst possible thing for a teacher to see is his students die on a mission. I had to live with that, now how about I share that pain with you?"

The Samehada came sailing through the water, right into its owners hands. Guy grimaced, remembering the feeling of the scales on the handle when he first tried to snatch the sword away from the rogue Mist ninja.

"I can see your hands still carry the fresh marks of the Samehada digging into your flesh. It's not wise to use another's weapon," Kisame chided the Green Beast.

Guy nodded, "Then let me use mine," unsealing his side pouch, the jounin took out a pair of nunchaku, gaining a laugh from the Akatsuki.

"You think that is enough to defeat me and my weapon? You're mistaken, stupid beast," Kisame laughed as he swung his sword onto his shoulder.

"I do believe so, since the person standing before me right now really isn't you," Guy proclaimed as he twirled his nunchaku.

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "When did you figure. . . ?"

"Your aura is not the same the last time I fought you," Guy lectured, "Nor is that poor excuse of a bloodlust!"

Tenten, Neji, and Lee were confused at what Guy was saying, until Kisame started to laugh.

"Ah, so you can see through the Shoten no jutsu?" Kisame barked, and looked over his shoulder, "And the all-seeing eye of the Byakugan could not?"

"That is because I have the eye of the tiger!" Guy proclaimed and did one of his many and unnecessary heroic poses.

For the first time in his career as a ninja and a rogue, Kisame was speechless. The students of the Green Beast had varying expressions: Lee was in awe of his master and father figure's epicness, Neji wished he had been deaf at the moment Guy uttered those words, while Tenten deadpanned, _"Of all the things he could have said, why did it have to be something so retro?"_

"Disregarding that last statement, I see you aren't the stupid beast I thought you were," Kisame pointed the Samehada straight at Guy, "Therefore, I'm going to take you seriously from now on."

"Good, I wasn't planning on holding back anyway!" Guy roared, swinging his nunchaku at the imposing Swordsman of the Mist.

Kisame brought up his sword to deflect the strike, then ducked under Guy's roundhouse kick and then had to dodge a flurry of nunchaku strikes. Guy then moved in with an axe kick, but stopped mid-way when Kisame brought up his sword and a couple of deadly spikes burst from the bandages to intercept the kick. Both the the combatant's leapt away from each other, one grim while the other estatic.

"I've heard much about you from Itachi," Kisame laughed as he moved in, "He told me that I should not underestimate you, but I'll have to see it in order to believe it."

Another water clone came from behind, which was dispelled with a simple flick of the nunchaku. From Neji's view it was like a dance, for a second Guy and Kisame stood facing each other, then the next moment they were toe - to - toe. They didn't kcik up any waves in their fight, the both of them were even too fast for the untrained eye to follow.

Looking to his right, Neji's focus on the battle was turned to Tenten, who was quickly running out of air. Cursing his helplessness, the Hyuga could only pray that his sensei would free him, Lee, and Tenten before they drowned suspended in these damned water prisons.

"Suiton: Suikodan no jutsu!" Kisame formed a shark out of the water which dove for Guy. The Green Beast braced himself to dodge, but was surprised when the shark exploded, showering him and obscuring his vision. Blinking, Guy managed to make out Kisame flying towards him with the Samehada held up high; the nunchaku came up just in time to block the downward strike. He was further surprised when Kisame made a fist and punched him in the face, torpedoing the jounin underwater.

Kisame watched as the weirdly dressed ninja sank to the bottom of the artificial lake, and smirked, "Alright my pets, it's feeding time."

From his angle, Guy watched as the Mist ninja placed his hand on the surface of the water and yelled something. From his five fingertips came a jet stream of water, which formed into five seperate sharks.

_"He may not be the real thing, but Kisame is still formidable," _Gai kicked off and nearly avoided one of the sharks that snapped its jaws and swam away for another go at the Leaf jounin.

Another shark came for Guy, its mouth revealing its nasty teeth. The jounin swam to the side and was nearly knocked off balance by the powerful current as the shark sailed by. As he again sank to the bottom, the third shark caught Guy in its jaws, but the Green Beast refused to give in and held the shark's mouth open. Kicking the upper jaw clean off, Guy pushed himself away from the shark summon, which had begun to reform its missing jaw.

Tired with playing around with their food, the five sharks attacked in unison. Kisame licked his lips, sensing time was up for the jounin, until Guy crossed his arms. He was shocked when the jounin's chakra level spiked, and as a green aura wrapped around Guy he felt the water temperature start to rise.

Perplexed by this new phenomenon, Kisame could only gawk as the rising energy exploded, wiping out the circling sharks, and forcing Kisame to take to the air as Guy burst from his supposed watery grave and came upon Kisame. His skin a shade of red, eyes white with fury, chakra flowing out of every pore, Guy truly did live up to his name as Konoha's Green Beast.

Seeing his chance with Kisame now fully occupied with a now more dangerous Guy, Neji struck out at the palm of the water clone holding him captive with a jyuuken strike. His water prison broke, the Hyuga prodigy took out the two remaining water clones simeltaneously, freeing his teammates. Lee caught Tenten before she could fall, and looked up at his sensei in wonderment.

"Guy-sensei has opened six of the eight gates!" the most cherished pupil exclaimed. Tenten had since then recovered, and looked up as her sensei unleashed a furious barrage of kicks and punches upon Kisame. Neji himself was transfixed by the brutal, yet elegant power Might Guy wielded that could even best an S-class ninja.

"Oh! That's Guy-sensei's Morning Peacock, his ultimate offense!" Lee explained. By now Guy's punches were so fast that spouts of flame were flying off due to the sheer speed and friction of the punches. Kisame was cannoned into the side of a nearby cliff, creating a fissure upon impact.

Pakkun glanced from behind his temporary hiding place, his large puppy dog eyes wide, "Huh, never saw anything like that before, even from Kakashi-san."

Guy stood, out of breath but victorious as the waters that Kisame had created began to recede. The dust around the impact area where Kisame had landed had begun to settle down, showing a prone figure lying still.

Pakkun sighed, "Looks like the fights over," he looked at the place where girl was standing back and observing the fight, only to find out she wasn't there.

* * *

The recently vacant space on the left forefinger was occupied once more, the apparition of a small girl appeared, her eyes gleaming in the dark.

"Kisame did as he was told, he threw the fight just as you ordered, Leader-sama."

Nodding his thanks to the little girl, the Leader turned to Zetsu, "And what of the Tani ninja?"

"All subdued," the white side of Zetsu replied, "They were all injected with a tetrodoxin from the old crone, but they will all see tommorow."

Deidara laughed, "Well Sasori my man, it's what you kept telling me: your grandmother truly is ruthless, huh?"

Sasori didn't reply, his attention seemingly focused on the extraction which was nearly over.

* * *

Team Guy stared at the downed Akatsuki member, at a loss for words. The person they fought was most certainly Kisame, wasn't it?

"But it was as if he was there, but somewhere else!" Guy spoke gravely, staring down at the corpse, "During the fight, I knew something wasn't right."

Neji nodded, his Byakugan confirmed it. Akatsuki obviously was far more devious than anticipated, having been able to substitute a body to fight in Kisame's place was sneaky, but who they chose was genius.

A Tani ninja, wearing a full flak jounin vest, the robes having completely evaporated, leaving no evidence of Akatsuki behind.

"But I do know that for certain," Guy's brow was now lined with sweat, "That I don't know this man after all!

In just one move, Akatsuki had started a conflict with Konohagakure and Sunagakure against Tanigakure.

"Ohh, we're so gonna get so much hell from Tsunade-sama," Tenten groaned.

"But he was working for Akatsuki, right?" Lee protested, "I mean, it's not like he really was with Tanigakure?"

Neji stared at the dead ninja, "Who knows? Maybe Akatsuki aren't just the type of criminals we labeled them to be."

"That's possible," Guy concluded, "But we can't stay here mulling this over. There is a chance we can cover up what we did here."

"Guy-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

"We must do this Lee," Tenten cautioned, "Otherwise we could land Konoha in hot water."

But unknown to Team Guy, they already had. A Tani ninja out on patrol served as a scout had a natural gift of using summoning jutsu to survey the Land of Rivers, and his squirrel summon had already seen the dead body, but unfortunately not the fight that transpired. Scurrying on all fours, it rushed to tell its summoner of what it saw.

* * *

**A/N: But why go through all that just to start a conflict with Konoha and another ninja village, you may ask. Well, what better way to start a war than to escalate tensions? Certainly you've known how wars can get started over the silliest of things?**

**Anyway, to all those who have been reading, thanks for hanging in there and I really appreciate the support, minus the reviews. So next we'll have a more elaborate defense set up by Akatsuki to prevent Naruto and co. from rescuing Gaara and a fight between our blond hero and . . . oops, I'll maybe leave that for you to ponder!**

**Btw, with Chapter 562 out all I have to say is this: WTF. I mean, how many more awesomefied jutsu is Konoha hiding? The Flying Thunder God technique is held by a group of ninja and neither Jiraiya or anyone else has taught it to Naruto? I mean, isn't it his heritage? So why is it being squandered away and kept out of the hands of Minato's son and heir? **

**Kishimoto, I am disappointed. These latest chapters have made me cringe lately and I have lost faith in your work.**

**Sorry for the rant, but if any of you guys want to voice your displeasure, head over to the forums to see what other people think.**

**My view on the latest Naruto Shippuden episode? Other than the bodyguard lady looking a lot like a guy, Lady Shizuka looked pretty hot, even for Naruto! That episode just added another girl to Naruto's harem ;)**

**See you this Thanksgiving!**


	9. Omake 2: The Pairing Wars

**And now for another Omake, this one on a topic that is the cause of so much strife. . .**

The Pairing Wars

Outside the studio the war raged on. It had raged for over a decade, and was nearing its climax due to the Naruto Shippuden manga coming to a close. Its combatants were battle weary, yet still refusing to give ground. It featured many parties, with three huge main ones and a scattering of smaller yet determined parties who had all one goal in mind: get Naruto hooked up with a girl. But the problem was not how to get Naruto his girlfriend/fiance, but who the lucky girl is.

The first major party was NaruSaku, a collective of believers who had seen the blond jinchuuriki and the pink harpy as destined for a relationship. They had a rough start since Sakura started out pretty much a bitch, but overtime grew into a strong, capable woman who seemed to have a growing interest in Naruto.

The second was NaruHina, a group which believed that opposites attract, in this case it would be the the raving loudmouth and the shy heiress. The possibility of a canon relationship showed promise, but the hope withered as time went on an neither Naruto and Hinata had shown signs of wanting to date each other.

The third and last was a little weird. It began with a mistake, and that single mistake became something more. You guessed it, it's NaruSasu, the gay pairing between these rivals has also drawn quite the crowd. Though there is no signs of any intimacy between these two, NaruSasu still has quite the following.

Besides these huge three, there were a variety of smaller yet persistent groups who saw Naruto with anybody:Temari, Ino, Tenten, Gaara, Kakashi, Ayame, Kiba, Yugito, the Rower, hell anyone that comes to mind!

"This is Uzumaki Naruto's Spiraling Radio, and I'm your temporary host, Hatake Kakashi," the Copycat ninja introduced himself.

"What's the big idea, sensei? I'm supposed to be the host of the show!" Naruto complained. He and Kakashi were both in a small room and sat at a table with microphones and papers scattered around.

"Because Naruto, we all need to know who you want, rather than the fans deciding for you," Kakashi beckoned outside to the growing crowd down at the street below.

Blushing, the blond jinchuuriki crossed his arms and looked away from his sensei, "I dunno."

"C'mon Naruto, you know you can't keep your fans waiting."

"I'm sixteen! It's not like I have to decide now!"

Kakashi smiled from beneath his mask, "Try telling that to your fans."

Naruto turned away and grumbled something inaudible. Meanwhile Kakashi listened in to his headpiece, and his visible eye widened.

"If I were you, Naruto, I would hurry up. Security downstairs had to deal with a rabid fan who blew himself up with homemade charges. Luckily nobody was hurt, but you can see the kind of situation we are failing to contain."

"No way, they can't be that crazy!" Naruto sputtered, "Send word to security to tell the crowd that I'm still too young to make these kind of decisions!"

Kakashi nodded, and activated the microphone in front of him, sending his question down to security on the ground floor, "The guy who blew himself up? Was he NaruHina or NaruTen?"

"That's not what I asked!" Naruto screamed, agitated by Kakashi's lack of empathy.

The Copycat ninja held up his hands, "Okay, okay, how about I ask you a few questions on what you truly feel for any girl you may have feelings for, it doesn't mean you've already picked one to be your soulmate."

"That's much better," Naruto huffed.

Leaning in close to his mike, Kakashi read one of the cards he had been given to question Naruto, "Here is a question from Choujou Giga: 'How do you truly feel for Hinata? Because if you hadn't noticed, she has a monster of a crush on you."

Pulling at his turtle neck, Naruto stammered, "Well, it's not like I haven't noticed her before, but that doesn't mean I've gotta show the same affection back. To be honest, I don't even know how to approach her on the issue . . ."

"Bullshit!" the door burst open and in entered Kiba, dragging a struggling Hinata with him.

"Kiba!" Naruto yelled, "What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Kiba barked, "I'm getting you two to talk, that's what!"

"K-K-Kiba-kun," Hinata protested, the blushed furiously when she saw Naruto.

"Uh, do you have a reason for bringing Hinata-san all the way up here, Kiba-san?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Naruto, I believe Hinata wants to say a few things!" Kiba proclaimed, ignoring Kakashi completely.

Now Hinata was a couple shades of red, and was close to blacking out. All this commotion and being in a room with Naruto was just getting out of hand.

"Uh . . . well, I . . ." she stuttered. Suddenly the door to the room flew off its hinges, and standing at the doorway was an enraged Sakura.

"Does anybody bother to knock?" Kakashi said lamely as Sakura stomped over to Kiba.

"What was the big idea of sabotaging the elevator, Kiba-baka?" Sakura spoke in calm voice, which meant she was pissed beyond measure. Naruto and Hinata wisely took a few steps back.

"Because I wanted to help Hinata confess her true feelings, and she didn't need any distractions," Kiba mumbled.

"She already 'confessed' in chapter 437! And since when have I become a distraction!" Sakura's voice was now raised.

"Well you know Sakura," Kakashi hoped to calm down the irate teens before things got out of hand, "Hinata's confession was a big deal for the fans . . ."

Sakura looked as if she was about to explode, "So? I confessed my feelings as well!"

The small room was silent. Naruto looked to the side to avoid Sakura's intense gaze, Kakashi looked bored, Kiba grimaced at the outburst, while Hinata just twiddled her thumbs.

"Did I stutter?" Sakura snapped.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well, technically that wasn't a confession."

"Care to elaborate?" Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Well, you did try to manipulate Naruto into not chasing after Sasuke," Kiba explained and crossed his arms, "That was kind of cold of you, even more so than the weather you and Naruto were in. If you bothered to look up 'manipulate' in the dictionary, what you did was take advantage of Naruto's feelings and use them against him."

Sakura was silent for the moment, unable to deny the accusation. She lowered her head and spoke, "But for whose gain: his or mine?

The Pink kunoichi looked up, "How could you say I manipulated him for my own gain? I did it for his own benefit since I saw how much he was hurting for Sasuke. The only benefit I would get from manipulating Naruto is to see him safe, is that wrong?"

Sakura looked over at Naruto, who was staring at her, "Do you how you would have reacted if I just told you the truth, that Sasuke was irredeemable? I'm really not sure, but I did what I thought was best at the time, and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings! Yeah, so I lied, but that's the profession of a kunoichi, right? Does it make me a bad person to want to save Naruto from risking his own life just to try to make me happy?"

To Naruto's surprise, Sakura's eyes started to moisten, "I can't lose you, Naruto! Not like what happened to Sasuke!"

Everyone in the room was deathly silent, shocked at what transpired.

"Well, I guess the NaruSaku fans are gonna have a hay day about this," Kakashi said hesitantly.

"Sakura-chan is on the verge of tears for me and all you have to say is that?" Naruto roared, prepared to give his sensei a good throttling.

Suddenly the window to the room was blown open, showering Naruto and the others with glass. Lowering his hands which he used to shield himself, Naruto looked up and was shocked to see who it was.

"Sasuke?" everyone yelled in disbelief. The survivor of the Uchiha massacre sat perched on the windowsill in his Sound ninja clothing, his eyes blazing with the Sharingan.

"Naruto!" Sasuke said forcefully, "We both must leave these fools to their petty squabbling while I take you away to a land where we shall be loved and adored and be able to get married: Iowa!"

At that moment, Naruto's mind went blank, since the hamster on the wheel inside his head just suddenly died.

* * *

Naruto sat straight up in bed, yelling his head off. When he stopped screaming and realized he was safe and snug in his apartment, he let out a relieved out-of-breath laugh.

"Thank Kami, it was all a dream," the blond said gratefully and plopped down on his pillow, "I can't believe the weird shit my mind puts me through while I'm asleep."

"What makes you sure it was a dream?" Sasuke said as he readjusted himself next to Naruto, "Now go back to sleep dobe, it's two in the morning."

Naruto woke up screaming again, and this time made a vow to not engorge himself on Instant Ramen before he went to bed.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yep, had to do that one. I mean, isn't everyone already tired on debating who Naruto will end up with? Make your own fanfic with Naruto getting together with some girl, and don't go into a bloodrage how this omake seemed to support NaruSaku and NaruSasu more than NaruHina.**

**Well, adios rabid Narutoxanygirl fans!**


	10. The Death of Gaara

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto franchise, but if I did, I would plan out the plot in advance, rather than add a bunch of unnecessary stuff like bloodlines, people, etc. turning it into a huge mess. You all know what I'm talking about. . .**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Death of Gaara**

The sealing was nearly complete. After nearly three days, the Shukaku would be sealed, making it the seventh Tailed Beast Akatsuki had captured and extracted.

If he had any remaining semblance of his innocence left, Itachi might have pitied the unfortunate container of the Sand. But having killed off his entire family and then join Akatsuki as a result had hardened the rogue Uchiha. After that no mission given to him from the Leader was as dirty as it sounded, he had learned to crush his morals since he had entered the ANBU. And now that his talents were of service to a greater cause he would die to see Akatsuki change the world.

"We are now entering the final stage," the Leader announced.

"About fucking time," Hidan, the more religious of Akatsuki's members spat,"I'm sick of doing nothing for nearly three fucking days."

"Still, there's the matter of dealing with those pesky flies heading our way," Sasori warned, speaking for the first time since Deidara mentioned his grandmother.

"They are moving at a greater speed than anticipated," the Black half of Zetsu rumbled.

"Don't worry, the Tani ninja and Kisame have stalled them. They will be retrieving a corpse," the Leader said emotionlessly.

Unlike the others, Itachi was the only one who had genuine respect for the Leader. He was a man of vision, unlike the fat daimyo's who hoarded the wealth and used the ninja villages to carry out their dirty work. At first he had been skeptical of the Leader, who claimed he had a vision in which the world would be united under the banner of one nation, one people, and that all the nations will shrivel up and die. But in time, Itachi opened up and saw the weight the man's words carried.

In time, people would see that Akatsuki wasn't a group, but a belief.

"Besides, in case they do arrive ahead of schedule, Peshun and Gashiro will be the one to keep them occupied."

Deidara laughed, "Oh, you mean the mole and the kid?"

"Yes, those two. And it would be best if you could show them some respect. They have sacrificed much to get here," the Leader chastised the Clay-user.

The Leader was also charismatic, so much that he was able to convince people to work together. When he had first partnered with Kisame, they're partnership was anything but tolerable, but overtime the two relaxed and the both of them had generally began to see themselves as comrades. The same could be said for Deidara and Sasori.

"The sealing is done," the Akatsuki Leader announced.

Itachi looked, and saw one of the eyes previously closed on the great statue was now wide open.

* * *

"It appears the mountain itself is a large honeycomb of passages and tunnels," Neji spoke as he scanned the mountainside with his Byakugan, "But I can make out a large cavern in the middle, but I can't clearly see inside, though there is a few people standing on what appears to be a giant statue's outstretched hands."

"But can you see Gaara?" Naruto asked anxiously.

Naruto and company had arrived just as soon as Team Guy did to the entrance of Akatsuki's hidden base. Informing each other of their encounters, the two teams realized they had little time left before Tanigakure responded.

"There is a prone figure laying on the ground. I would assume that to be him, though I can't be certain of his condition," Neji spoke as his eyes narrowed.

"So what are we waiting for?" Naruto's pupil's were red and slitted, "Let's go in there and save Gaara."

"We can't, not until that is removed," Neji pointed at the large tag in the middle of the large boulder that covered up the entrance to the large mountain.

"It's very strong, so strong that even I could not break through," Guy said as his right hand tingled, a painful reminder of what he did before Kakashi and his group arrived.

"Couldn't we try to make an entrance for ourselves then," Temari asked, her anxiety for her brothers safety was growing since they were so close to rescuing him.

"The barrier not only covers the entrance, but the entire mountain range," Neji explained, "So that is out of the question."

Putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder to try to keep him at ease, Sakura looked up at the tag, "Then in order to breach the barrier, we must first learn what type of a barrier it is."

Staring at the large tag with word "Forbidden" written in bold kanji, Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, "It looks like a Five-Seal Barrier."

"What's that?" Tenten asked.

"A Five Seal Barrier is created by placing name tags with the word 'Forbidden' written on them in five separate locations," Chiyo explained, "You can see that one of them is in front of us, but that leaves four others scattered across the landscape."

"So how can we remove them?" Temari asked, she was close to hacking away at the barrier in desperation.

"The only way to remove this barrier is to remove all five tags simultaneously," Kakashi picked up and turned to Neji, "Can you locate the other four tags?"

Nodding curtly, Neji activated his bloodline and looked this way and that, seeking the other four tags. After a moment of scanning, his eyes widened, "I've found one! Five hundred meters northeast of here on a boulder. . . the second one is growing on the base of a tree alongside a stream three hundred fifty meters southeast. . . another is on a cliff about six hundred fifty meters northwest. . . and the last one is eight hundred meters in a forest southwest of here. They are far away, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an ambush."

"It's obvious they want us all to split up," one of the Sand jounin, Anizawa, grumble disdainfully.

"Lucky for us, we came prepared!" Guy pulled out a pair of wireless radios from his backpack. The Sand Jounin and Temari also brought out the same equipment, "That way we can stay in touch with each other."

Kakashi nodded, "All that's left is to decide on splitting up who with who."

"Then if we are to do that then I request heading into the mountains to rescue Gaara," Chiyo said, her tone neutral.

The one-eyed jounin knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was looking forward to reuniting with her grandson, but spoke nothing of it.

"Alright, then I shall decide the teams!" Guy announced, "Tenten! Lee! The two of you take the tag southeast from here, while the rest of you. . ." he trailed off, realizing he didn't know the first thing about the Sand team and their skills.

Temari smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, I have this. Me and Tetsuya will take the one in the forest, while Matsuri and Anizawa will strip the boulder of the tag, and that just leaves the one tag on the cliff," she thought darkly, _"And if only Yura hadn't sent so few of us we have Akane and someone else take that tag."_

"How about me and Neji?" Guy pulled his prodigy student to his side, much to Neji's discomfort of course.

"We need a medic on each team going after the tag," Kakashi explained, "And we will need the Byakugan when entering the mountainside. So I suggest Naruto and Sakura take that tag."

"But Kakashi-sensei. . ." Naruto's protested.

The one-eyed sensei gave his more outspoken student a look, and Naruto looked back at his sensei defiantly.

"I want to go after Gaara," the blond spoke firmly.

Kakashi hoped that it wouldn't have to come to this, "Naruto, I believe it's best that you help release the seal."

"Why not send someone else then?"

Feeling the eye of everyone present on the two of them, the Copycat ninja truly wished Naruto hadn't put him on the spot.

"I know you really want to rescue Gaara, but I feel your emotions might get in the way of the mission. We are dealing with S-class criminals here, and we can't have you acting recklessly. Please try to understand what I'm saying, Naruto."

Another angry retort was willing to burst forth from his lips, but at the last minute Naruto held it down as he recalled one of his few spats with Jiraiya.

_Flashback_

_"Dammit Ero-sennin, its already been five months and I've only learned how to break out of genjutsu and to make a bigger Rasengan, why not teach me something new for once! How can I rescue Sasuke and fight Akatsuki if I don't learn any new jutsus!"_

_Jiraiya paused from his parchment and quill to look up at the agitated brat, "I have been teaching you, gaki."_

_"No you haven't because all you ever do is dick around!" Naruto outburst was starting to annoy the Toad Sage._

_Suppressing the urge to pull down the brat's pants and give him a good spanking ( the gods know he deserved it anyway), Jiraiya calmly told himself that there were less extreme ways to get through the blond idiots head._

_Putting his writing tools down, Jiraiya glared at his irate student, "So let me get this straight: you will never become a good ninja unless you learn at least a dozen new jutsus?"_

_This made Naruto stop, ". . .Uh, well no, but. . ."_

_"And you are saying that you want me to be the one to hold your hand every step of the way and in the process you learning nothing or growing form the experience."_

_"That's not what I'm saying at all!"_

_Jiraiya snorted, "Oh? Then how about I give you a small test. You pass, and I will shower every single jutsu I know upon you like there is no tommorow, deal?"_

_Uncertain where his new master was going with this, Naruto nevertheless nodded boldly, "Deal!"_

_"Alright then, say you are a chunin with your team that has been assigned rescue a hostage from a group of rogue ninja. You track these rogue ninja to their lair and open the door to the last room to see the captors with the captive tied to a chair and beaten. What is your next move?"_

_Naruto didn't waste a second,"I'll kick their asses of course!"_

_"Congratulations! In your reckless charge to 'kick their asses' you set of a trap and get you and your team killed. The captors and the captive were just bushin and a trap which you fell easily for, well done."_

_Jiraiya watched his student's face go through a mixture of emotions: confusion, realization, then rage._

_"No fair, Ero-sennin!" he protested, "You didn't say there wouldn't be any traps!"_

_"That's the whole point, gaki!" Jiraiya lectured, "You don't know when there will be traps, you don't know the opposition you'll be facing, and you don't know if someone on your team will stab you in the back!"_

_The last sentence seemed to have an effect on Naruto, who quieted down to allow Jiraiya to continue,"The point I'm trying to make is that you let your emotions do the talking which puts yourself and everyone at risk. It doesn't matter how much jutsu you may have learned or that you are chunin or jounin, the fact is that if you aren't level headed, you won't be a true ninja."_

_Naruto blinked as though he had been stung. Jiraiya sighed, "Look to be honest, I admire the determination and effort you put forward, you remind me of myself when I was your age. But you've now been around to know that life isn't all about heroics. As a ninja, you have to learn to make sacrifices and to listen to you superior who may have more experience. So even if one of your friends is in peril, you can't charge in like some crazy yahoo, you have to plan and adapt to any situation."_

_Naruto stared at his new teacher, at a loss for words. Never before had he heard the lecher speak like this, what he was saying was truly deep._

_"And since I'm your superior, I get to decide when I feel you're ready to learn new jutsu instead of piling on a bunch of it when you won't make any good use of what I taught you. What I'm teaching you right now is helping you refine your technique so that you don't get caught with your pants down," Jiraiya noticed that Naruto was listening, "Do you understand?"_

_End Flashback_

Taking a deep breath, Naruto nodded, "I understand, Kakashi-sensei."

* * *

Zetsu had been listening in on Kakashi's assigning of the teams to take out the tags via a parasite clone that had lodged itself into one of the nearby trees. Though the original was miles away, the parasite clone had the capacity to operate at long distances, making it the ultimate spy.

The Akatsuki Leader appeared to be deep in thought after hearing Zetsu's report, leaving the other Akatsuki members to converse freely between themselves.

"So it is only a matter of time before they manage to bypass the barrier, hm?" Deidara smirked, "Too bad they would only be retrieving a corpse."

"But that doesn't mean we should pass by the chance to capture the Nine-tails, am I correct?" Sasori's tail swished in the air as he chuckled, "Too bad you're nowhere near to catch your target Itachi."

The Akatsuki Leader looked at the puppet master, "So what I'm hearing is that you could succeed where Itachi failed?"

Sasori remained silent, unsure of what the Leader was asking of him.

"If that is so, then you shall be the one to intercept Uzumaki Naruto and his partner, Haruno Sakura."

The Puppeteer bit back a curse, his hopes of reuniting with his dear grandmother had been dashed. When he first heard that Chiyo would be entering the mountain to rescue Gaara, he felt a tingle go through his entire shell. It wasn't from fear or anger, but excitement, a chance to finally test his full mettle on the ancient relic that was his grandmother.

But once he had opened his mouth to mock Itachi on his failure, the Akatsuki leader decided it would be appropriate to see if Sasori could back up his words. He wanted to argue, to demand to be left behind in the chamber to confront his destiny, but this order came from authority in Akatsuki that wasn't questioned.

Perhaps another time, maybe. After all, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki might as well be a warm-up.

"Deidara, you shall dispose of the body," the Leader referred to Gaara's corpse.

The Clay-user snorted, "How come Sasori-sama gets to take the jinchuuriki while l get burial duty?"

"Because you already had your chance with the Ichibi," Sasori reprimended his partner, "And besides, if they do get the body, the could study it and find out more about us than we want them to."

"Remember, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is wanted alive, the rest of you are dismissed," the Leader said sternly.

One by one, each of the visages winked out, until only Itachi, Kisame, and the little girl remained.

"Well, we better get going as well, have fun with the nuisances," Kisame laughed as he disappeared.

"Too bad I can't be there to see the fight. Oh wait, I'm just a couple of miles away! I'll be there," the youngest member of Akatsuki cackled before she to winked out.

Itachi himself was about to leave until Sasori spoke up, "Itachi, when facing the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, what should I expect?"

The Uchiha stared at the puppeteer, then gave a parting sentence, "He will be the first one to scream and yell at you."

Now only Deidara and Sasori were left. The Clay-user stared at where Itachi was before and let out an exasperated sigh,"Heh, it's just like him to be unspecific."

* * *

A/N: Well it's a new year, and it has given me a lot to think about. For now I shall stay with this, but I have some awesome ideas up ahead. Stay golden.

And as for the last chapter in the manga: Son Goku finally makes his entrance? Why didn't Madara think of using the dragonballs to wish the Jubi out of the moon?


End file.
